


Non-Nuclear

by LyricalKris



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Drama, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-27
Updated: 2011-06-27
Packaged: 2017-11-08 01:45:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/437762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyricalKris/pseuds/LyricalKris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Parenthetical Love companion piece. In the dictionary, there are more than 20 definitions for family. It's finding what family means to you that makes all the difference.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Life's A Beach

**Author's Note:**

> [](http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/lyricalkris/Twilight%20Fanfic%20Stuff/?action=view&current=nn1.png)

**A/N: This is a companion piece of sorts to Parenthetical Love. I don't think you need to read that story to appreciate this one, but what you should know is that, originally, Bella asked Jasper to donate his sperm so she could have a child. Meanwhile, Rosalie and Alice asked Edward to donate his sperm so they could start a family. The sperm got swapped at the clinic and each woman ended up pregnant by the 'wrong' man.**

**Disclaimer: If I was SM, I would not be writing at work, I'd be writing FOR work… Thus, I donut own these characters.**

* * *

It was harder than Jasper expected, having biologically fathered a child he was in constant contact with. Especially days like today.

"What a gorgeous family you have."

Jasper looked up from his cooler, finding a grandmotherly woman in a huge, floppy sunhat looking down at him with a grin. She looked back a short distance away where Alice sat in the sand with Dashiel settled on the ground between the V of her legs. They were sitting right at the edge of the waves and Dash was giggling like crazy when the water came up, splashing over his wiggling toes.

"Thank you," he said sincerely, giving the woman a tight smile before he went back to rooting through his cooler. He hoped against hope she would drop it.

"How old is the little one?"

No such luck. "Eleven months," he answered, taking out the water bottles he'd left Alice and Dash to retrieve.

The woman looked at him again, her eyes raking him over in an appreciative way Jasper was used to. "That one's going to be a heart breaker. He looks just like you."

As usual, his heart gave an odd little twist, halfway between pain and pride. If he had a dollar for every time a well-meaning stranger had pointed out the obvious - that Dash was a pudgier, much shorter version of himself - he would have enough to start a college fund for the boy. Jasper managed a smile, thanked the woman again and headed back to his 'family'.

"Here you go, sugar," he said, handing Alice a bottle of water as he sat beside her. As soon as he sat down, Dash had raised his arms, babbling for, 'Ja, Ja, Ja, Ja.' They swapped, Alice taking both water bottles while Jasper plucked the baby up.

Holding Dash upright by his waist, Jasper watched as the boy stomped his foot, digging his heel in the wet sand.

It was confusing at times. Men were supposed to want this: a strong, healthy son that was the spitting image of themselves. It was surreal how looking at the boy was like watching his old baby pictures come to life. Yet Dash wasn't his. Jasper wasn't the baby's father in any real sense. His feelings for the boy were caught in some complicated place - more than an uncle, but less than a daddy.

A soft hand brushing his face broke Jasper's reverie. He grinned at Alice, but she only looked back at him with concern. Immediately, his grin faltered. He should have known better than to even try. Better than anyone – even Peter – Alice could read his moods as readily as if he was projecting them on her.

"Tell me," she demanded, her voice soft.

Because it was Alice, he told her about the woman. Rosalie would have gotten self-conscious, like she always did whenever they were all out together. People naturally assumed that Jasper and Alice were a couple, and that Dash was their son. Though she was getting better about not caring what people thought, it was difficult for Rosalie, feeling so left out of other people's perception of their blended family. She would not have been able to be open minded enough to help Jasper talk out his mixed feelings; her own would have taken precedence. But Alice never tried to forget the science that had created her child, and so she could be level and logical when they talked about it.

"Would it have been easier if it was you and Bella? Like it was supposed to be?" Alice asked quietly. Her voice was unassuming.

Jasper considered the scenario she presented. "Yes," he answered honestly, "but not for the reasons you'd probably expect."

A lot could be said about the clusterfuck of a situation that had resulted in Dash's birth, but finding Alice was a priceless gift Jasper couldn't have predicted. He was very much in love with Peter, nothing was going to change that, but the relationship he'd found in Alice was special. It was like the incredible connection that soul mates spoke of minus all the heat and lust.

Because of that, it was difficult sometimes to not hear the echo of his father's voice in his head, talking about what was normal and right. If Dash had been Bella's child instead of Alice's, it would have been easy to dismiss the notion. His love for Bella ran deep, but it just wasn't the same.

Sitting there on the beach with Alice leaning against his side and Dash using them both as his personal jungle gym, Jasper couldn't help but see a faint image. In some alternate universe, the picture would have been so different.

It didn't feel wrong - being part of this family.

"Hey, there you are!" a familiar voice called.

"MA!" Dash crooned merrily, craning over Jasper's shoulder and reaching for his mother.

"Hi, baby," Rosalie greeted, scooping him up. Alice stood, and Rosalie gathered her under her other arm, kissing her hello quickly.

Jasper's lips turned up, the confusion fading for the time being. They were a beautiful family that he had the pleasure of knowing. And that didn't feel wrong either.

He watched with a smile on his face as Dash babbled to Rosalie in baby speak, no doubt filling her in on everything she'd missed. He was a boy of few real words currently, and all of those were monosyllabic. His 'bub' -his bottle - was his most prized possession. His cousin Arianna was 'Ree', Alice was 'Mee', Rosalie was 'Ma' and Jasper was 'Ja'. Everything important in his life, Alice had told him once. It didn't escape Jasper's notice that he ranked before the boy's doting grandparents. Though all of that was Alice's observation. Jasper couldn't confess to distinguish one goo from another. He didn't speak baby.

But Dash was well aware of who he belonged to. He stuck to his mothers like glue as they explored the beach, clinging to them like a chubby little monkey.

After about a half an hour, a flash caught Jasper's eye and he grimaced. There was a single paparazzo on the beach, snapping pictures. The paparazzi had largely lost interest in Rosalie, Alice and the surprise of one of the world's most drooled over super models being happily committed to a woman. Still, when they caught them out playing with Dash, the paparazzi could still make a bit of money snapping a picture or two of the happy family. People were always gaga about celebrity babies.

More than one gossip rag had guessed their secret because Jasper had been caught in pictures with the little family. Still, Rosalie had confirmed nothing, so Jasper did his best to keep his distance when the cameras were out.

To that end, he stood, wading into the water until he was up to his chest. He turned away from Alice, Rosalie and Dash, squishing his toes into the sand so as not to be knocked off balance by the waves.

For long minutes, Jasper stood in the surf, letting the calm,steady beat of the waves bring peace to his unsettled consciousness. Breathing in the salty ocean breeze, he tried again to find the source of his disquiet.

Jasper had no idea where it had come from, he only knew that one day, he became aware of a subtle discontent with his life. As of yet, he had no idea where that feeling originated from or what, exactly, was wrong. By anyone's standards, his life was the epitome of the American dream. He had a fulfilling job, a loving, intelligent, funny, talented mate, more friends than he could count on all of his digits... What did he have to complain about?

What frightened him most was that he'd experienced this kind of confusing, disconcerting mindset before. All through junior high and high school, he'd grappled with the feeling that something wasn't right. Of course, that was solved when he'd won a scholarship to USC. One semester of college later and he'd had the missing piece of the puzzle. When he figured it out, it was like a light turning on in a pitch black room. Suddenly he could see all the things he'd been bumping into, bruising himself on for so long.

It seemed that he liked kissing the sun-soaked boys of California over the giggling girls of Texas.

But that was then. Now, he couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong with him. He was more than sure he didn't want to kiss anyone besides Peter so just what was the problem?

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around his waist, jarring him from his consternation. A chin rested on his shoulder, and Jasper sighed, letting the roll of the waves sway them together. He closed his eyes, finding Peter's fingers under the water and tangling them together.

"You're about to drift off to sea, sailor," Peter murmured, his voice low and light in his ear. "You didn't even see me get here."

Jasper chuffed and turned to face his lover. "I was practicing all being at peace with your surroundings, meditation. You know, becoming one with the ocean and all that shit."

Peter wrinkled his nose. "The ocean's pretty big, babe. If you become one with it you might wash up in Japan."

"Heh," Jasper grinned. "Don't look at me. We've been spending too much time with Charlotte. You're the one who let her drag us to that meditation class."

"I'm pretty sure it was a given that meditation should be done on land," Peter said, rolling his eyes. "You know - where you're not in danger of drowning?"

"You're just afraid I'd drift off to Hawaii and become one with the beaches of Honolulu," Jasper teased. "You know those Hawaii boys blow fire."

"You make it sound like that's a good thing rather than something you'd have to use a cream to clear up." Peter shot back as he put both his hands on top of Jasper's head, dunking him underwater before he could talk back. Jasper flailed, fighting against the other man's hold until he broke the surface. Sputtering, he retaliated by sweeping Peter's legs out from under him. A predictable splash war ensued, the two men wrestling and laughing as they thrashed out to deeper water.

Eventually they settled, and they drifted in relative silence with Peter clinging to Jasper's back as they swam around slowly. Jasper's eyes drifted back to shore, and he smiled when he saw Alice and Rosalie dangling Dash between them, swinging him above the waves as he shrieked with laughter.

"Maybe we should look into getting ourselves one of those," Peter murmured thoughtfully, his arms tightening around Jasper's chest.

Jasper didn't answer right away. His heart seemed to warm and twist at the same time; his thoughts were a tangle he couldn't begin to explain. Instead of trying to put words to the feelings Peter's simple comment brought on, Jasper chose to treat it as a lighthearted jest. "Kidnapping is all kinds of illegal, doll."

Peter snorted, his lips rearranging the damp drops of ocean water at his lover's ear. "Guess it'll have to be legally then," he said, but he chose not to press the subject. Instead, he moved to Jasper's side, dragging him toward the shore with the explanation that it was getting cold.

When they were back on the sand, Jasper plopped down, cross-legged, on the beach towel he and Alice had laid out before. Before he could locate another towel, Jasper found himself blinded. Peter was kneeling behind him, covering his head with the towel Jasper had been looking for. Peter rubbed the towel roughly and playfully over the other man's head under the guise of getting him dry. "Cut it out!" Jasper laughed, swiping blindly behind him.

"See, baby," Rosalie's amused voice interrupted the two men. "Peter had to take Jasper out of the water, too," she said soothingly.

Jasper pushed the towel away from his eyes, smiling at Rosalie as she sat with Dash on the towel beside his. The little boy was teary-eyed, having obviously been ripped from the water against his will. He was wrapped snugly in a big, fluffy towel and now pouted at Jasper from his place on Rosalie's lap.

"You wanna know a secret, buddy?" Peter yell-whispered as he continued to towel Jasper off.

Dash looked dubious, merely putting his pudgy hand in his mouth as he looked up at Peter.

"Jazz probably cried more than you did," Peter said solemnly. Then he put the towel over Jasper's head, making the other man protest as he mussed his hair again. Dash thought Jasper fussing was hilarious, so Peter repeated the process until the little boy was giggling again.

By the time everyone was as dry as they were going to get for the time being, Alice had rejoined their group. "I come bearing sandwiches," she declared, putting a bag with the name of one of their favorite beach-side sandwich shops down between the two towels. Kneeling, she sifted through the cooler. "Don't worry, Dash. I brought fruit for you," she said, smiling over at her son.

As they settled down to eat, Jasper happened to catch the eyes of a woman a short distance away. It was the same grandmotherly woman with the big floppy hat that'd stopped him earlier. She was staring at the five of them, her mouth rounded in an 'o' of surprise.

Jasper smirked, knowing what she was seeing. The picture had shifted considerably since she'd first seen him and Alice with Dash on the beach. Now, Alice sat pressed against Rosalie's side, with Rose's arm around her waist. Dash was squeezed between Rosalie's left knee and Alice's right, happily picking slices of strawberry out of the Tupperware Alice had handed him. Meanwhile, Peter seemed much more interested in combing out the knots he and the waves had left in Jasper's hair with his fingers than he was with eating.

Catching the woman's eye, Jasper winked at her, and then turned back to his friends and his lover.

**A/N: Okay. This is not going to be a traditional story - more like a group of vignettes on the same general topic. To that end, I'm not putting it on a posting schedule. This will just update as it comes - though, if you know me, it's unlikely it will be ages between updates. I'm thinking it will be no less than 5, no more than 10 chapters long... but we'll see.**

**Thank you to barburella and jadedandboring for support and beta work.**

**Let me know what you think thusly.**

**  
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	2. If It's Not One Thing It's Your Mother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you for your lovely reviews. I'm so sorry for not answering them. I had an Internet outage that was just recently solved that made it difficult. Will do better this time. Just know you are appreciated.

Calling his mother wasn't always a chore. Sometimes she was downright pleasant to talk to. He missed his Texas family on occasion, especially his little sister.

But sometimes... his family worked his last nerve.

"So how's my grandson doing? You know, you should send me pictures. A grandmother shouldn't have to frame a tabloid to show off her grandbaby."

Jasper closed his eyes and counted to five before he even thought of answering his mother.

When Dash was three months old, a paparazzo had caught the first picture of Jasper out with Alice and the baby. He hadn't thought anything of it until his mother had called, furious and excited. It seemed the picture had been sold to a tabloid. The paper had correctly guessed at Dash's biological parentage, but then had gone on to talk about the torrid affair between he and Alice.

 **Rose Devastated!**  the headline read.

Actually, Rose thought it was hilarious. It was finally a tabloid rumor that was all wrong. It wasn't her parents she had to justify any action too.

Jasper knew his mother, Maria, struggled to be open minded. It wasn't that she was bigoted or hateful, she was simply very traditional. When Jasper returned home after his first year at USC she had, as mothers were prone to do, asked about his love life. In his calm, even tone, Jasper had explained that he'd dated here and there...several fine young men.

Deacon, Jasper's father, hit the roof, screaming about normalcy and heathens and Bible thumping his way through a belligerent conversation. Jasper had rolled his eyes, refusing to engage his father further than to tell him to stop being so cliche. That evening, Jasper overheard his parents' hushed arguing. Maria told his father to be patient. Jasper was young and away from home for the first time - it was expected that he was going to explore new things and challenge the way he'd been raised. It was a phase he would grow out of.

In his third year of college, Jasper had become involved with a kind, intelligent man named Benjamin Amun. When their relationship looked to be more lasting, Jasper started to drop his name in conversation when he spoke to his parents. When Jasper brought Benjamin home over the Christmas holiday, Deacon had been nothing short of embarrassing, grumbling, among other things, that he'd apparently paid for Jasper to go out to California and piss all over the morals he'd been taught. He treated Benjamin as if he had the plague. Maria, however, remembered her manners and basic human kindness. She treated Benjamin with respect and politeness, tripping and stumbling her way through awkward situations she never could have dreamed she'd have to deal with.

Time had tempered Deacon's reactions somewhat. By the time Jasper brought Peter around to meet the folks his father had graduated to stiff pleasantries. He would make small talk with Peter but often didn't look the other man in the eye.

On the other hand, Maria was almost natural with her son's significant other. There were large chunks of time where she almost forgot that there was something different about Peter and she could laugh with him and converse normally. Still, there were those needlessly awkward moments when she didn't know what to say, or where to look when Jasper and Peter were cuddling innocently on the couch. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the concept that her only boychild would never bring home a lovely daughter-in-law, would never live what she thought was a conventional life.

Needless to say, when he told her how Dash had been conceived, she didn't quite see things the way Jasper did.

"Mom," Jasper started slowly, "I don't have a son, therefore, you don't have a grandbaby. Unless Lucy popped one out without telling me."

She sighed, sounding frustrated. "Honey, I understand that you don't want to take any responsibility for him, but that shouldn't mean that I can't be a grandparent to my grandchild."

"Mom..."

Before he could go off on his mother, Jasper felt a calming hand on his shoulder. He breathed deeply as Peter began massaging his tension away. "I need you to listen to me," he continued, his tone under control again. "I was trying to help my friend. You remember Bella, right? We've had this conversation."

"You can justify it all you want, Jasper Whitlock, but I've raised you better than this. One day, that little boy is going to want to know where his daddy is. What are you going to tell him then? Rosalie Hale didn't get that little gal pregnant. You did."

Slamming his hand down on the table, Jasper tried to keep his cool...and failed. "You need to get this through your head, okay? That baby is Alice and Rosalie's, not mine. Give it up. I'm with Peter. I'm not going to have children." He chuffed. "At least you still have Lucy," he growled before he slammed the phone down.

Instantly feeling guilty, Jasper slumped forward on the table, burying his head in his arms. He reflected that as much as having children had to, at times, be an irritable and thankless task, the same could be said for having parents.

"Did you mean that?"

"What?" Jasper looked up, his tone still reflecting his vexation as he looked over his shoulder at Peter.

"That we're not going to have children," he explained.

Jasper snorted. "I don't know if you noticed, doll, but neither of us has a uterus."

The silence that followed was distinctly uncomfortable. Jasper got the feeling he was in trouble, but he couldn't figure why. He knew for sure a moment later when Peter made a vague noise. "You know, babe, my stomach is feeling a little funny. I'm really not up for Query tonight."

Jasper twisted in his seat. "Peter," he called to Peter's back as his lover walked away. The other man didn't stop. "Fuck," Jasper said, slumping over the table again.

For a few minutes, Jasper just stewed, trying to calm the boiling hot edges of his irritation. The last thing he needed after his mother essentially accused him of being a dead beat dad was Peter's passive aggressive retaliation. Frustration and his rising temper made it difficult to think, and Jasper didn't want to get into a screaming match with Peter.

Pushing back from the kitchen table, his chair grating against the tire floor harshly, Jasper decided he needed to take a drive.

_**~0~** _

Edward looked severely irritated when he opened the door twenty minutes later. His expression softened somewhat when he saw Jasper there. "Quiet," he cautioned as he let Jasper in. "I finally got Ari down for... well, the time being." Jasper clucked in sympathy, knowing that Edward and Bella's baby daughter Arianna wasn't known for being a great sleeper. "Bella isn't here."

"I know," Jasper said, holding back a snicker. "She told me that when I called to ask if I could come over. Actually her exact words were, 'Oh, thank God you called. Edward is alone with the baby.'"

"What?" Edward exclaimed, coming to a sudden halt. He gave an exasperated growl. "I can take care of my own daughter!"

His loud voice was immediately followed by Arianna's whimpers as she woke. Edward slapped his hand over his eyes, looking a little haggard. "Ah, fuck me," he muttered under his breath.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm in a relationship." Chuckling, Jasper clapped him once on the shoulder before moving over to the stroller in the middle of the living room. When she wouldn't sleep, Edward and Bella sometimes put Ari in her stroller and walked her around the house. She was more likely to doze off that way.

Jasper picked the baby up out of the stroller, holding her firmly against his chest as he settled down on the couch. Ari fussed but soon settled, laying her head on Jasper's chest and running her chubby little fingers through his hair. Most of her free hand was stuffed in her mouth.

Sighing, Edward sat beside Jasper, pulling Ari's fingers out of her mouth and replacing them with a pacifier. The little girl made a disgruntled noise but didn't protest further.

"So, what's on your mind?" Edward asked finally.

Jasper didn't answer right away, instead running his fingers around Ari's chubby legs as he sorted through the irritation in his head, trying to arrive at the root of the problem. "Peter wants to have babies," he muttered.

When Edward didn't respond Jasper looked over only to find the other man's lips quirking up and down, as if he wasn't sure he should be so amused. Jasper arched an eyebrow. "It's every man's right to have babies if he wants them," Edward said in a surprisingly good British accent.

Instantly remembering that scene in Monty Python, Jasper chuckled lowly. "But... he can't have babies," he returned in his own - admittedly terrible - accent.

"Don't you oppress him." Edward wagged a finger in Jasper's face.

"I'm not oppressing him, Edward," he continued in mock indignation. "He hasn't got a womb! Where's the fetus going to gestate? Is he going to keep it in a box?"

The men laughed quietly as possible, trying not to stir the sleeping baby on Jasper's chest. "Seriously, man," Edward said when they'd quieted. "I thought that was a sealed deal. Bella said you were talking about having kids right after Ari was born."

"Sure, but talking about having kids and actually having them are two different things. It's not that simple. I can't exactly knock Peter up," Jasper said, his tone a little defensive.

Edward snorted. "Look who you're talking to. You of all people should know that there are many options out there. It's just a matter of choosing one."

His expression became tender as he ran the backs of his knuckles over his sleeping daughter's cheek. "This little girl and her mother are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can't regret the way she was conceived. Still," he mused, "sometimes I think it would have been nice to plan a family with the woman I love more than my own life. You know... create a family rather than stumbling into one." He laughed. "But I think however you get there, it's worth the journey."

~0~

When he got home, the house was quiet, the lights out. Jasper's heart gave a contrite twist. Peter only went to bed early when he was upset.

Jasper knew Peter's sleeping habits enough that he wasn't fooled at his lover's attempt to feign sleep. Peter was turned away from the door on his side, his breaths too even. Still, Jasper said nothing as he quietly stripped down to his boxers and climbed onto his side of the bed.

Jasper was silent at first, not knowing quite what he wanted to say. He wasn't entirely sure what had set Peter off in the first place - not exactly. He rolled onto his side, looking at the expanse of Peter's back. He smiled to himself, remembering the very early morning after the first time they were together. Studying Peter's nude form as the other man slept, Jasper explored his body with his eyes. Peter's back was a star field of birth marks and freckles. Feeling mischievous, and wishing Peter would wake the hell up already, Jasper had taken a Sharpie and begun playing connect the dots.

Now he used the pad of a single finger, tracing a line from the birthmark at the small of Peter's back, all the way up the freckles of his right shoulder. Peter's breath caught but he still said nothing, and he didn't roll over.

Determined now, Jasper continued along an invisible path, catching as many birthmarks under his finger as possible. When he got to a sweet spot right below Peter's armpit, he wiggled his fingers along the skin there, knowing his lover's ticklish spots better than he knew his own body. Peter squirmed and quickly reached back to bat Jasper's hand away. He rolled over, chuckling in spite of himself. "Real mature, Jazz," Peter said, but there was no real venom behind his words.

Jasper snorted. "Because pretending to be asleep is the pinnacle of adult behavior," he teased lightly. Sobering, Jasper caught Peter's hand, holding it. "I'm sorry for leaving. I just needed to clear my head."

Giving in, Peter rolled over so he could look the blond-haired man in the eye. "I'm sorry for ruining our date."

Tenderly, Jasper brushed the hair off Peter's forehead, twirling a lock around his finger. "So... are you going to tell me what I did? I mean... I have a vague idea, but it would probably be better if you laid it all out."

Peter was silent and Jasper sighed. "Look, I know you want to talk about having kids-" he began but Peter's laugh cut him off.

"I know it's not easy on you. I can see that," Peter began, his tone musing and a little sad. "It's not like you thought it would be, is it?"

"What?" Jasper asked cautiously.

"When you told me what Bella asked, I was nervous. I had this irrational thought... like you were going to take one look at her, and the baby and you were going to want something I couldn't give you. Something..." he trailed off, a small smile on his face.

"There are many, many reasons that I love you," Peter said softly, sincerely. "But do you know what first attracted me to you?"

Jasper tilted his head, looking at the other man curiously. "You mean it wasn't this ruggedly handsome face?" he quipped.

Peter chuffed, smiling adorningly. "Rugged," he snickered. "Besides that, stud. You were the first man I'd met that treated us like we were normal."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, when we met, you started flirting with me like it was the most natural thing to do in the world. You weren't nervous. You weren't looking around to see who else was listening. It was such a huge difference from the boys I was used to."

Jasper snorted. "You mean the inhibited college boys who still giggled a little after making out? That's the difference between being with a boy and a man."

Drawing his finger down the bridge of Jasper's nose, Peter's smile waned. "In all the time we've been together, you've never made me feel like there was anything… unnatural about us."

Peter rolled over, straddling Jasper as he sat up. "Not being able to have kids on our own isn't an abnormal situation for a couple to face," he continued evenly. "So when you talk about how you can't have kids because you're with me, it really pisses me off."

Sighing, Jasper put his hands on the other man's waist, stroking his fingers against the small of his back. "You know I didn't mean to say it like that."

Peter regarded him warily for a moment, and then leaned down, aligning their bodies so that his head was inches away from Jasper's. "Sometimes, when you're with Dash and Alice, you look at them like you want… that instead of us."

"That's not-" his protest was cut off as Peter thrust his hips forward.

"Do you remember when we bought this house?" Peter asked, his voice calm though he continued to move over his lover.

Jasper was having a hard time concentrating. "Of course," he muttered, breathless.

Peter bucked his hips harder, grinding so that Jasper gave a little cry. "Do you remember what you said? Room to dream, right? That's what you said."

"Yes. Fuck. Baby..."

"Do you still want that?" Peter asked, moving his hips faster, knowing damn well that he was driving Jasper crazy.

"Yes. Please, Peter." Jasper's fingers were digging into the skin of his lover's back then, his thoughts a blur. He'd have agreed to anything the other man asked but just then but his words were nothing but the truth.

His confusion about Dash hadn't diluted his dreams of the future with Peter... a family with Peter. It had just put blinders over his head, obscuring his clear view of what he wanted.

"Tell me," Peter demanded. "Tell me that you're mine." He was leaning so close now that Jasper only had to tilt his head up to kiss him, but every time he tried, Peter would pull back, always just out of reach.

"You know I'm yours," Jasper whispered, his voice raspy. "It's you and me, Peter. Always." The last word trailed off into a whimper as Peter kissed him. It was a firm kiss, a little desperate despite the confidence in his tone throughout the conversation. He wasn't as sure of himself - of their relationship - as he was trying to make out.

Jasper ran his hands through Peter's hair, gripping hard as their mouths and bodies moved together. It killed him - the doubt he heard in Peter's voice. He just hadn't realized how his indecision had hurt his lover. He realized now how unfair it was - that he'd put the man who should have been his first priority on the shelf while he grappled with his feelings for an entirely different family.

Rather than try and put words to how sorry he was, Jasper let his actions speak for him. His hands traced the lines of Peter's back, alternately caressing and kneading - desperation and tenderness vying for their chance to speak. Peter was pressing him into the bed, dominating his body, which wasn't the norm for their relationship.

But Jasper was far from arguing. No matter what the situation in his muddled mind, there never should have been doubt that he wanted Peter at his side. Always. For everything.

Pressing his lips to Peter's, and then to the other man's chin, cheeks and neck, Jasper let his hands drift down, bringing his boxers with him. He let his fingers caress the line of Peter's ass, teasing and titillating until the neediness had left the atmosphere between them.

Their kisses were sweeter now, Peter's hands not as possessive as he cupped Jasper's face. He wasn't as rough when his hips thrust forward, but instead he moved at a slow, steady pace.

Jasper pushed his lover back only far enough that he could roll over - a silent message that he was Peter's for the taking. Peter peppered kisses across his back, nipping lightly. He fumbled in the nightstand drawer for lube, coating himself and Jasper's entrance quickly.

When he was sheathed inside of Jasper completely, Peter aligned their bodies, preferring the intimate touch instead of deeper penetration. Their fingers entwined, stretching toward the headboard. Peter rested his head on the other man's shoulder, his lips taking quick love bites along Jasper's neck.

"I love you," Jasper said, his voice fervent as he pushed up to meet Peter's thrusts.

"I know," Peter assured, kissing his neck tenderly.

Their words faded to moans and, completely lost in the feel of Jasper surrounding him, it wasn't long before Peter came, his release and Jasper's fingers squeezing his the last salve he needed to mend his hurt.

They shifted and Peter tried to bring Jasper to his release but the blond-haired man batted his hands away. Instead, Jasper gathered Peter to him, stroking his sweat-slicked skin as he kissed every reachable part of his face with slow, tender lips.

Peter drowsed off, smiling.

As Jasper looked on his dozing lover, he thought over his own words from years before. This house was really too big for the both of them. Many times he'd reflected that it was waiting to fulfill its potential, waiting for the clutter and noise of a growing family.

The more he thought about it, the more Jasper realized those dreams were still an unrealized ache in his heart. Maybe he was confused about his feelings for Dash, but when he thought about raising a family of his own, it wasn't the beautiful little boy he thought of.

He wanted it. Despite everything, now more than ever he wanted a family with the man he loved.

"Hey, Peter?" Jasper said, shaking the other man's shoulder a little.

"Hmm?"

"Let's do it."

That roused Peter a bit more, and he raised his head, smiling sleepily. "Baby, we just did it. Maybe I'm getting old, but you're going to need to give me a little more recovery time... and maybe a nap."

Jasper chuffed. "Not that, jackass," he said affectionately.

In Los Angeles, it never really got dark, and so Jasper was able to see Peter's features clearly with the light from the uncurtained window. He saw the love in the other man's eyes, the perfect pout of his lips and the way his hair fell haphazardly across his forehead.

"I love you," Jasper said sincerely, rubbing the pad of his thumb along the stubble of Peter's cheek. "I want to share all my life with you. So let's do this. Let's start a family."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you to TwilightMundi for helping me name Jasper's father and SweetDulcinea for helping me figure out the lemon. Barburella and jadedandboring for support and full length discussions in mah docs.
> 
> So… what are we thinking now?


	3. She Had A Mother Like So Many Do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short update now = long update later. Long update = greater statistical chance of lemons. Heh.

Jasper blinked at the hapless intern in front of him, trying to comprehend the words that were coming out of her mouth. "What do you mean there are no pumpkins?"

The girl –  _Nettie,_  he remembered belatedly – twisted the end of her braid in her hands nervously. "We ordered a truckload of pumpkins for the set. But, the company called and said they can't deliver our order."

"You have a hatchback, don't you?" Jasper asked patiently.

"Well, yeah -"

"Okay. Here's what you're going to do," he said as he dug for his wallet. "It being the first of October and all, there are pumpkin patches all over the city, so this shouldn't be hard. You're going to go around and fill that car of yours to the brim with the biggest, prettiest pumpkins you can find, alright?" He handed the clueless woman the paper contents of his wallet – about three hundred dollars. "This should be enough for the pumpkins and gas. I expect to see change, got it?"

"Y-yes, sir," Nettie said, taking the money and scampering away quickly.

Jasper closed his eyes, mildly amused. Sometimes he felt like he was the head of an army of amateurs.

His cell phone rang then, distracting him. Jasper smiled when he saw the name on the screen. "Hey, babycakes."

"Hey, Jasper. I'm not bothering you, am I?" Alice asked.

"You? Never," Jasper said, walking off the noisy set so he could hear her better. "What's up?"

"Char and I were just thinking… it's been forever since we've had a girl's day out. Rosie's got a photo shoot, the baby is with Carlisle and Esme tonight, what do you say to Thai Elvis?"

"Thai Elvis," Jasper chuckled. "Now that's an offer that's hard to resist. Good food, stunning er… entertainment, and two of my favorite girls."

"Tell him he can't come without Petey!" Charlotte's voice could easily be heard in the background.

Jasper snickered. "Believe me, Petey would be perturbed if I came without him," he said lewdly.

Alice giggled. "You're bad. Anyway, my car's out of commission, so can you pick us up?"

"Sure, sugar," Jasper said easily. "Gimmie till four and I'll be there. And yes, I'll bring Peter with."

~0~

"Ugh. Look, Peter. It's a miracle," Jasper quipped as he down on a grassy hill in Griffith Park. He rubbed his aching belly. "We're going to have a Thai baby."

Peter laughed, trying to tug Jasper to his feet, but Jasper just groaned. "No. Can't get up. Too. Full."

"You gotta walk it off, babe," Peter said.

Alice giggled, plopping down beside Jasper. "You two walk it off. Jasper and I are going to slip into a carb coma."

Jasper reached out, pulling Alice into his arms and cuddling her close like a child would a stuffed bear. "Yes. Wake us if the police think we're homeless."

"Spoil sports," Charlotte admonished playfully. She put her arms around Peter's neck from behind. "Come on, Petey. Let's play without them."

"As you wish, my lady," Peter said, stooping slightly so he could get a better grip as Charlotte wrapped her legs around his waist. They ambled off, giggling together.

"I don't know how he can be so damn energetic after a meal like that," Jasper mumbled, watching Peter - or more specifically, Peter's ass, as he retreated. He sighed, breathing in the pleasant girl smell Alice exuded. "And weight lifting on top of it... Maybe I'm just getting old."

"Shut up," Alice said feigning exasperation, purposefully mussing Jasper's hair as they cuddled. "Don't be so melodramatic."

They lay in silence for a few minutes, just soaking up the last of the sun as twilight began to fall. Alice rolled slightly away from him after a little while, but she threaded their fingers together. As always, her presence brought Jasper great peace.

"Have you and Peter come to any decisions about how you want to start a family?" Alice asked softly.

"We've narrowed it down to a couple of choices, though neither of them is easy," Jasper said, his voice thoughtful as he remembered all the conversations he'd had with his lover in the last week. "We decided that we wanted the whole experience. We'd love to be there for at least part of the pregnancy, and then from the moment our baby is born."

"So that means surrogacy, or adopting the child of a woman who's already pregnant," Alice surmised.

"Mmmhmm," Jasper murmured. Then he let out a long, worry-laden sigh. "I keep on thinking of the worst case scenarios," he admitted. "I keep on thinking...what if lightning strikes twice? You and Dash are among the better things that have ever happened to me, but it all could have gone to hell so easily. It almost did in Bella and Edward's case."

"Bella offered to carry a child for you," Alice pointed out.

"So she keeps reminding me." Jasper snorted. "She didn't like pregnancy the first time around. I couldn't impose a nine-month long headache on her." He smiled fondly. "Bella is as sweet and selfless as they come, but you know as well as I do that she has a family of her own to think about now. If she carries any more children, they should be her own."

"Edward wants more," Alice said, a smile in her voice. "He doesn't say it, but I can tell."

Jasper rolled his head, studying Alice's profile with curiosity. "Do you want more?"

She looked at him, pursing her lips as she considered. "Rosalie does. If it were up to her, we'd have a dozen kids," she laughed. "We'll have at least one more. She wants to experience pregnancy for herself, but we haven't really talked about it."

Jasper wondered idly whose genetics Alice and Rosalie's future babies would share. Would they ask him? It made sense in a way - even if they used Rosalie's egg, the child would be Dash's biological brother.

Thinking about the logistics brought Jasper back to the importance of blood relation and responsibility. As if she could sense his sudden distress, Alice rubbed her thumb over his knuckles soothingly.

"When we have to tell him…about me, I mean… do you think he's going to want me to be more to him?"

Alice didn't have to ask what Jasper was talking about. She breathed in deeply, her eyes creasing at the corners as she thought over her answer. "I don't know, Jasper," she admitted, her voice light. "I can't really see the future."

She pursed her lips, looking nowhere in particular as she spoke again. "I've thought about that, and I just don't know. Rose and I are raising him to understand that family isn't something that has a one-size fits all definition. But we also live in a world that still stresses that a child should grow up with a female mother and a male father – as if a kid is somehow disadvantaged without a set." Her voice was slightly bitter as she spoke, and Jasper wondered just how many times she'd heard this particular argument and from whom.

"To me, it all depends on the person or people raising a kid. Dash is healthy and happy. He's well loved. He has so many fine role models of all genders around him. When the time comes, I hope Dash will understand that it's Rose and I who've raised him. I hope that he can understand that your blood running through his veins doesn't make you a parent." She squeezed his hand. "Either way… we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Jasper considered this. He wondered why he was worried. When it came down to it, it was Alice and Rosalie who would be affected the most by Dash's inevitable questioning. So why did the question nag at him, tugging insistently at the edges of his mind and heart?

Sighing, Jasper had to turn the question around on himself. "I hate to belabor the point. I just ... I'm crazy about him. I worry about what I'll feel for the child that's supposed to be mine," he admitted his worst fear to Alice knowing she was his safe haven. "It won't be fair to them if I feel… less."

Alice didn't answer right away and sat up, though she didn't let go of his hand. "Can I ask you something?"

Curious, Jasper only looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"You know your whole spiel about labels? You refuse to call yourself gay, or call Peter your husband because those words come with rules and expectations. You do that so you can love whomever you want the way you want without being limited by definitions," she summarized his feelings succinctly.

"So?"

"So why are you trying to put a label on what you feel for Dash?" she asked plainly. "You love him. He is a meaningful person in your life and you in his. Nothing is going to change that, and I don't think you want it to change, but don't give it any more meaning than it needs. You're not his daddy or his uncle...you're his Ja." She grinned.

As she looked down on him, Alice ran her finger down the scruff of his cheek playfully. "Honey, when your baby is born, Daddy is one label that you're going to want to own. It's so much more than guessing at what role you're supposed to play. When you're the parent, you think about everything. Too much," she said with a laugh. "You realize that everything you say and do is molding who he is and who he will be. Do you worry about those things when you think of Dash?"

"No," Jasper admitted.

Alice nodded. "The responsibility is ... immense. But the love, Jasper... the love you'll feel when it's your baby... it's the purest, most frightening thing I've ever experienced. Having a child isn't about whose blood is running through his veins. It's about what part of your soul that little creature has carved out for himself. Dash is my son, Jasper - Rosalie's and mine. His genetics can't dictate that fact."

She cupped his cheek, looking down on him with adoration. "You're a wonderful man, Jasper. You've never needed society or anyone else to tell you how to be or what you should be. Trust yourself."

~0~

They all ended up at Jasper and Peter's house, spending the evening with a few too many glasses of wine around the coffee table in the living room.

Jasper was in a state that could only be described as blissed out. He was humming contentedly to himself, lounging on the long sofa with a glass of wine in one hand and his fingers tracing the lines of Peter's collarbone with the other. He pressed haphazard kisses against his lover's cheek and neck, enjoying the taste of the wine mingling with the salty flavor of Peter's skin.

With Peter's back pressed against his chest, Jasper felt the rumble as the other man laughed. "Char, you just chugged that glass. Be careful. I'm a little too tipsy to hold your hair back tonight."

"Thanks for that imagery," Jasper muttered without opening his eyes.

"I'm not going to get sick," Charlotte protested. "I just needed some liquid courage. That's all."

That made Jasper peel his eyes open. He leaned back, focusing on her for a second. She was worrying a napkin in her hands, the movement distinctly nervous. Next to her, Alice had a hand on her knee as if for support. "Are you okay? What's going on?" Jasper asked, suddenly nervous.

She tittered. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just... well, this is fucking awkward as hell. I don't know how to say this at all."

Peter sat up, leaning forward. "Just spit it out, hon. You're killing me .

"Tell them about the baby," Alice said soothingly.

"What baby?" Jasper and Peter asked together.

Charlotte took another breath. "Well... okay so, funny story. I wasn't always the calm, no-nonsense kinda girl you see before you today."

Both men snorted because Charlotte was anything but calm. She was enjoying the remainder of her twenties quite thoroughly, in fact. Within the legal limit, but only barely.

"When I first came here, I was barely 18. I was so many miles away from home." She rolled her eyes. "Not that my parents were any kind of buffer, but you know," she shrugged. "There are a lot more ways to get in trouble here than in Po Dunk Nowhere." She looked toward Alice, taking the other woman's hand. "If it weren't for Alice... well, she kept me safe."

Her smile became sad. "So, I'm sure you can tell the rest of the story yourself. I was stupid and reckless. There was a one-night stand. She grimaced, "Several one-night stands if I'm being honest. And I wound up pregnant."

"Oh, honey," Peter murmured, reaching his hand out. Charlotte took his hand.

"No, honestly... as surprising as this might sound, it was a positive experience," she assured him. "Alice was an angel. She supported me through everything." She took her time telling the next part of her story. "She's the one that helped me get clean. And then... she found me the couple I gave the boy to."

"I'm sorry," Jasper murmured, his heart aching for the woman in front of him.

Charlotte shook her head. "Don't be. God, I didn't mean to turn this into a pity fest," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm golden. Pregnancy gave me a reason to get off the dangerous path I was on. Honestly... I really liked the whole being pregnant part."

Jasper and Peter looked at each other, a little incredulous. Neither of them had been able to understand the appeal of pregnancy... other than the baby, of course.

"It's true!" Charlotte claimed with a giggle. Then she looked sheepish. "Of course, it helped a lot that the couple spoiled the ever loving hell out of me. Spa visits... any kind of food I ever wanted, well, except sushi."

"Lack of sushi would be my deal breaker," Jasper muttered.

"Honey," Peter said slowly, "what are you trying to tell us?"

Charlotte let go of Alice to hold onto Peter with both hands. She looked between him and Jasper, her eyes sincere. "What I'm saying is ... I have no desire to be a mother. Really. None. But... when I gave birth to that little boy, being able to complete a family... that was, without a doubt, the proudest moment of my entire life." She held their gaze, a smile beginning to bloom on her face. "I would love...  _love_... to do the same for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm officially adding Twanza to my list of saints and enablers. If you haven't started reading Love in Idleness, you are seriously missing out. Seriously. SERIOUSLY.
> 
> Thanks also to barburella and to all of you. Your response to this little story is just… so lovely.


	4. Baby Making

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry about my lack of review replying this last chap. I am on death's door - which is to say I'm sick. I'm not really dying. I'm just being dramatic. Anyway. Ily all. Tysm for your reviews.

No one would ever say that dinner with the Cullens was boring.

Since the family had a habit of collecting strays, Esme and Carlisle Cullen's home more closely resembled a circus. It was Thanksgiving and on top of the Cullen children, their significant others and their children, Jasper, Peter, Charlotte, and Charlie Swan were in attendance. Edward and Esme were cooking the main portion of the meal, but everyone had brought something.

Jasper watched, a bemused smile on his face, as the chaos unfolded all around him.

"Katrina Antonia!" Tanya called as one of the twins raced outside. "No running. You are going to fall in the pool!"

"Is this... it is. These are Betty Crocker Au Grutin potatoes," Edward mumbled, glaring at the contents of one of the many covered dishes that were currently occupying nearly every available counter space. "Whomever brought boxed," he spat the word with disgust, "potatoes into my kitchen is eating outside."

"Edward Anthony Cullen," Esme admonished, a hard look on her face. "This is  _my_ kitchen, in my house and I know you know better than to treat  _my_ guests so rudely."

"Oooooo," Irina crooned. "Uncle Edward is in trrrooouuuble."

"Oooo," Arianna parroted from Bella's arms.

"I'm afraid that was me," Peter said, standing and doing his best to look contrite. "You know I wanted to cook it from scratch, Edward, but I just don't look as cute in apron as you do," he said, pinching the other man's cheek.

"Ha," Edward said sardonically, rolling his eyes as he reached for Ari who was reaching for him. He smiled, brushing his nose against his daughter's. "Ari, Grandma's being mean to me. You still love me, right?" he asked, cuddling her against his chest.

The baby responded by giving his cheek a wet kiss. Then she strained down, trying to get her hands in the potatoes. "One?" she cooed.

Edward gave an exasperated growl. "You're a traitor, Ari," he accused.

Laughing, Bella took the girl back. "Come on, Ari. Let's get out of Daddy's way before he cooks you with the turkey."

"You," Edward said, pointing at Peter. "Box Cooker. Out."

"Edward," Esme said warningly.

"Please," her son said, smiling sweetly.

Holding his hands up, Peter relented and went back to his place next to Jasper on the couch.

Bella set Ari down next to her cousin on the blanket that was spread out on the living room floor. Dash was playing with a set of stacking rings... if by playing one meant trying to fit the entire ring in his mouth. With her hands free, Bella went to sit on Jasper's other side, letting out a long sigh.

"Tired, sugar?" Jasper asked.

"She's been up since about four," Bella said dryly, nodding at her daughter. She glanced over at Jasper and Peter. "This is what you're signing up for. I'm just saying."

"Yeah," Peter answered. "But we're also signing up for that." He pointed outside to where Emmett had scooped Katie up into his arms and was holding her threateningly over the frigid water of the pool. She was shrieking with little girl giggles - a sound that could make even the most bitter heart smile again. "And that." He pointed to the next room where Carlisle and Rosalie sat at the dinning room table. They were razzing each other over a game of cards.

Bella smiled. "Well played," she acknowledged.

That evening, when the children had all conked out due to the overabundance of food they'd consumed, the adults settled down to have a drink. As could be expected, the fact that Peter, Jasper and Charlotte were going to start trying to conceive on Charlotte's next cycle became the topic of interest quite quickly.

"Are you mental?" Bella squeaked upon learning they were planning to go to the same clinic where a distracted nurse had swapped Edward and Jasper's sperm in the first place.

"Come on, Bella. Think about it," Jasper said. "After what happened the first time, Dr. Snow is going to be extra cautious with us. I bet it's actually safer to go with them given the circumstances.

"Besides, they've agreed to do each procedure at a discounted rate," Peter added. "You know we met a couple when we went in for the consult who was on their 13th try?" He shook his head. "That adds up."

"Well, you know..." Charlotte began, her voice coy. "I'd be more than happy to do it the old fashioned way." She winked, grinning wickedly at Peter. "Take one for the team, so to speak."

Jasper arched an eyebrow, putting his arm around Peter and tugging him closer. "Mine."

The gathered adults shared a quiet chuckle at that, lapsing into silence before Rosalie spoke. "Here's what I don't understand. How could you walk away from your child?"

"Rose," Carlisle said, a note of incredulity in his voice. Privately, Jasper wondered how the Cullen family's patriarch could still be surprised at his daughter's blunt attitude. No one else seemed to be, though Edward rolled his eyes.

"It's fine, Carlisle," Charlotte assured. She looked back at Rose. "I'm a little surprised you could ask me that, considering where your son came from."

Rosalie frowned. "It's different. I never asked anyone to carry their own flesh and blood inside of them for nine months only to give it away to someone else to raise."

"I've done it before," Charlotte said mildly.

"In some ways, I understand that more. You were young. You weren't exactly in love with the father. But you could have a baby now, if you wanted to," Rosalie pointed out.

Charlotte looked thoughtful as she drank her wine. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about him...the baby I gave up. This society teaches us from the time we're tiny that little girls want to grow up to be mothers. I wasn't any different. I rocked my baby dolls to sleep and played house with my Barbies.

"The thing is, I'm a grown-up now. Part of that is realizing there's a difference between fantasy and reality. I love the  _idea_ of a baby - the cooing, adorable little cuties in movies and commercials." She smiled a little wistfully.

"But here's the reality of the situation. I'm always on the go. I don't have a steady boyfriend or girlfriend because I resent being tied down to one person. Honey, in all honesty, it annoys the shit out of me when I call Alice because I want to do something spontaneous and she's like, 'Oh, but Dash can't go there.'" She patted Alice on the arm apologetically.

"I'm never going to be that girl," Charlotte continued, her voice certain. "To me, it seems like in reality, you get one page of kids say the darndest things for every ten pages of needy, crying, pooping, boo-boos, breaking things, whining, tantrums, parent-teacher conferences, expenses, sleep overs... just..." she waved her arms around. "That's a lot of things I don't want to deal with, not even for the good parts.

"And here's another reality for you. A lot of people are assholes. I mean - present company excluded." She grinned at everyone. "Big assholes breed little assholes." She reached over, mussing Peter's hair tenderly. "Yet here are these two fantastic guys. It doesn't take a genius to see that any baby raised by these two would grow up to be an amazing little person - a person I want in this world."

Jasper looked at his lover, a tender smile lighting his face as he reached out, taking Peter's hand.

"So if they're ready for this," Charlotte said in conclusion, "then so am I."

**~0~**

"Are we ready for this?"

Peter turned to Jasper, both eyebrows raised in mild amusement. "Baby, now is a little past the time for this conversation, considering where we are."

Jasper rolled his eyes at his lover. It was a true statement given that they were in one of the clinic's private rooms. Charlotte was just a few rooms away, ovulating and ready to be inseminated. The doctors and nurses were ready. All that was missing was the essential male component.

Chuckling lightly, Peter took his lover's hand, leading him to the comfortable couch in the room. They cuddled on the couch, Jasper's head on Peter's shoulder.

"They make it a little difficult to get lost in the romance of the moment, don't they?" Peter mused, his fingers combing through Jasper's soft hair with gentle affection. "None of this candle-lit bedrooms and satin bed sheets nonsense. We have a sterile little room," he gestured around them with his spare hand. "Doctors down the hall with needles and all that."

His finger traced the shell of Jasper's ear, making the blond man sigh. It was slightly overwhelming. Knowing he wanted to be a father was much different from making it a reality, especially when it took an entire team of people to create this particular child. He tried to beat back the wordless anxiety that was rising quickly in him.

Jasper took some solace in the fact that even at this early stage, it was already different. When he'd done this for Bella, the time he spent in this very room was relatively short, sweet and easy. He felt then like no more than a supportive friend standing by Bella's side as she took perhaps the most important journey of her life.

This was different. This was his journey. His and Peter's next step. The wonder and the responsibility alternately made him feel like flying and weighed him down heavily with worry.

"Jasper," Peter whispered, his fingers stroking that pleasurable spot behind Jasper's ear with a light touch. "Look at me, baby."

Obliging, Jasper raised his head and met the other man's eyes slowly. His breath caught in his throat, his heart fluttering a familiar, quick tattoo.

In that moment, everything faded away. Jasper forgot about his stress, his worry. The 'what if' that had dominated his thoughts for months now became indiscernible voices at the furthest reaches of his mind.

It was the way Peter was looking at him: like he was staring at all the breathtaking, beautiful things the world had to offer in one Jasper-shaped package. There was nothing to think about except each other and the love he had for this amazing, wonderful man. That two Southern boys who'd grown up three states apart had found each other in the insanity that was Los Angeles, and had then survived the ebb and flow of dating and falling in love was proof positive that magic existed.

"I love you," he murmured, his voice husky as he took Peter's face in his hands, kissing his lips with a reverence that enforced just how deeply he meant those three words.

Peter didn't need to verbalize his answer. His words couldn't express his feelings as aptly as his body could. His lips moved with Jasper's, both men gentle and yet insistent. His hands worked their way down slowly, in no rush. He stroked the long hairs at the back of Jasper's neck, ran the pads of his fingers down slowly so the other man shivered and moaned into his mouth. Down, down, down, pressing his palm against Jasper's chest, his stomach.

Jasper jerked a little when Peter's hand cupped him over his pants. His eyes opened, hooded with lust and want. Their lips parted and Jasper panted, sending little puffs of hot air across Peter's face.

The two men shifted, pressing their bodies close together and tangling themselves into the position they wanted. Jasper's right hand worked the button of Peter's pants as Peter reached across with his right hand to release his lover's length from the confines of his pants. Jasper lifted his hips, letting Peter pull down his boxers for better access even as he began to rub the other man in slow circles.

Rather than use the lube the clinic had provided, Jasper winked as he pulled a tube of warming oil from his pocket. Once he'd poured an ample amount into his palm, he took Peter's hands in his, playing with his fingers until they were both coated, their skin slick. Not dropping their gaze, they each took the other's hard length in their hands, beginning to stroke.

Jasper and Peter knew this dance well. Just as they knew each others weaknesses, strengths, moods, and pet peeves, they knew each others bodies as they knew their own. Maybe better. There was that oft waved about phrase - made for each other. Truly, it did seem like they built to connect.

There was a spot under Peter's chin that made him gasp when it was stimulated. It was only right as Jasper thought there was something undeniably sexy about a man's head thrown back, his neck exposed and vulnerable. So as he took firm hold of Peter's shaft, Jasper grazed his teeth up along the skin of his neck until he reached that sweet spot.

Jasper was a fan of any type of sexual pleasure, but if pressed he would admit that his favorite times were not when sex was rough and hard and fast. That was nice, hot even, but Jasper's favorite times were when the build that began like a tiny spark on bone dry tinder, igniting each of his nerve endings in turn until his body, his blood, was replaced by a need to come so powerful that when he finally did his entire frame would shake out of his control. Jasper had learned very early on in their relationship that Peter had this particular talent, so it shouldn't have surprised him with the other man bypassed his cock and opted instead to tease the tops of his balls.

They made love with their hands and mouths, stroking each other and mumbling very few words. Jasper begged please. Peter called him baby. Yes, they said.

"Jasper," Peter gasped finally, "I'm going to... Now."

Jasper had only enough presence of mind to reach blindly for the end table. His eyes were rolled back in his head from what Peter was doing to him, but somehow he managed to close the fingers of his free hand around the little cup that was their entire purpose here.

As Peter came, Jasper stroked him, keeping his cock from twitching so hard that his essence spilled anywhere other than the intended target.

Peter breathed deep, taking the cup. His hands were trembling so badly that Jasper had to take over, stroking himself hard and fast because Peter had brought him to the bring of combustion. He felt that if he didn't come soon, all the energy and ecstasy coiling at his core would have no choice but to go the other direction, imploding into a black hole. Peter gained complete control of his body just in time to put his arm over Jasper's stomach, holding him down as his body bucked hard with his orgasm.

Twisting closed the cap of the specimen cup, Peter set it down on the end table before he slumped forward, draping himself over Jasper's limp body.

They lay together for a few minutes, Jasper lazily stroking Peter's back as they caught their breath. With his lover warm in his arms, the sterile environment was ridiculously inconsequential, and Jasper had to laugh at himself.

"What is it, babe?" Peter asked, raising his head.

Jasper only smiled, stroking his lover's cheek with the backs of his knuckles. "We're making a baby today."

Peter's answering grin was slow but giddy, his eyes sparking with a deep joy that seemed to make his skin glow. "God. That's amazing," he whispered.

"Yeah, it is," Jasper agreed, kissing the other man adoringly. "It really is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks and love to jfka06, barburella, twitina and jadedandboring. Ily you all.


	5. Family of Origin

Something was tickling Jasper's nose.

Grunting and not opening his eyes, Jasper swatted at it, not trying to shake off off the comfort of sleep. His thoughts weren't cognizant as he wiggled his nose, trying to alleviate the persistent itch before it woke him.

The itch chuckled - a lovely, deep chuckle that made Jasper's grin stretch sleepily across his face. Stubborn as all get out, he still refused to open his eyes.

"Baby," Peter sang softly, drawing his finger along the bridge of Jasper's nose, down, over his lips. "You have to wake up. We have a flight to catch."

Jasper groaned. "Don't wanna," he mumbled

"Come on, babe," Peter encouraged, tugging Jasper's hand. "We still have to deal with LAX. Maybe if you're lucky, you can watch some burly security guard stick his hand down my pants."

That made Jasper's eyes fly open. He found Peter hovering over him, propped up on one arm. Putting his hands on the other man's waist, Jasper quickly switched their positions, pressing his lover into the mattress. "Now see, you could have woken me up a lot easier telling me you were looking for someone to stick their hands down your pants."

He kissed Peter soundly then, grinding his hips against the other man's so he groaned against his lips. Peter indulged him for a minute but then put his hands against Jasper's face, holding him still. "Nice try, babe. But we really need to get up."

With a sigh, Jasper rolled off Peter, staring up at the ceiling. "Let's tell them the Cullens adopted us."

Peter got out of bed and stood over his lover with his hands on his hips. "Jasper Whitlock, I know you haven't forgotten your manners," he chastised, his normally soft Southern accent becoming much more prominent. "Now you get out of bed. You're not gonna disappoint your Momma."

Jasper chuckled softly, smiling in spite of himself. "Fine, fine. I'm up," he agreed, rolling out of bed and stretching. He wrapped an arm around Peter's waist, pulling him closer. "You're just so cute when you're bossy," he teased, nipping at the other man's ear.

"Get in the shower," Peter demanded, his voice playful again. "You stink."

Drawing his nose along Peter's shoulder to the skin of his neck, Jasper drew in a deep breath. "So do you," he murmured. Raising his head, he waggled his eyebrows at the other man. "It'll save time if we both shower at the same time."

Peter rolled his eyes but grinned. "Well, that's the first logical thing you've said all day," he agreed, taking Jasper's hand and leading him to the bathroom.

~0~

Jasper was quiet on the plane ride from LAX to George Bush Airport. Perhaps luckily for him, Peter was a nervous flier and was zoned out on Xanax the entire flight.

Because it had been a while since he and Peter had been home, they were going for an extended visit - one week with each set of parents. They would spend the week leading up to the day after Christmas with Jasper's parents and then it was off to Georgia and Peter's parents for the new year.

"Hey, Peter," Jasper said, tugging on the other man's sleeve as they made their way toward baggage claim. Peter looked over, his eyes still a little glassy. "What do you say we keep the maybe-baby to ourselves for now?"

Peter blinked, processing Jasper's words slowly. His eyes narrowed, but before he could say anything, a blond-haired blur flung herself into Jasper's arms with a cry of, "Big brother!"

Jasper wrapped his arms around his sister, lifting her up with the strength of his hug. "Ellie!"

Once Lucy Elizabeth - Ellie to no one else but her brother - disentangled herself from Jasper's arms, she was immediately swept into Peter's. "Hey, Pete. God, it's good to see you guys."

Peter smiled and kissed her cheek before he set her down. "Two years. Time does fly, doesn't it?"

"I know it must be hard to tear yourself away from the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle but would it kill you to come visit more often?" she said, her voice mock stern.

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Ellie, planes go both ways, you know."

"I know," his sister said softly. "Hell, maybe I oughta crash at your place for a while. It would be a welcome break from Mom's sighing. 'Even your brother managed to catch himself a nice fella, what's wrong with you? At this rate I'll never be a grandmother,'" she mimicked.

Peter gave Jasper a pointed look over Lucy's head. "Gee. Wouldn't it be great if you could tell her she'd be a grandmother soon?"

Jasper studiously averted his eyes. Lucy shuddered. "Bite your tongue, Pete. I have no desire to be a mother right now. "

~0~

Jasper had successfully evaded the topic of their impending fatherhood for three days before Peter reached the end of his rope. Jasper could see in his eyes that he was about to jump on a natural segue while they sat in the living room with Maria and Deacon.

Jasper smiled sweetly at his parents. "Please excuse us," he said politely, grabbing Peter by the wrist and hauling him down the hallway. He pushed his lover into the nearest room, shutting the door behind them. Jasper scrambled with his hands along the wall until he found the light.

Laundry room. They were in the laundry room. He sighed.

"What is it about your parents that has you reverting to being a teenage boy?" Peter hissed, not even pretending not to know why Jasper had dragged him away from the table.

It was very cramped in the laundry room. There was barely enough space for an adult to stand and do the laundry let alone for two full grown men to be tucked inside - especially when one of them was gesticulating as much as Peter was.

Jasper was well aware that the topic on the table was important. Impending fatherhood was topmost in his thoughts as of late, and Peter was right to be annoyed at his avoidance of the subject. But while he took the other man's complaints very seriously, it wasn't the first time they'd faced parent issues as a couple.

The simple fact of the matter was that Peter didn't really have a leg to stand on. Jasper's preferred method of dealing with his parents was avoidance. It was a safe bet that if he and Peter were going to visit the Whitlocks, there was going to be at least one fight about the issue. But, in the same vein, when they moved on to the Damon household, Jasper would doubtlessly be the one red faced and whisper-screaming about Netty Damon - Peter's mother - constantly talking about Santiago Salazar - Peter's ex. That Peter feigned sudden deafness rather than come to lover's defense, the spark of irritation lit Jasper's temper.

What both men knew was that they couldn't change their parents, and so they naturally fell into other methods of blowing off steam.

When Jasper unbuttoned his jeans, Peter didn't stop his verbal dressing down. "That's not going to work this time, Jasper," he hissed, though Jasper noticed he did nothing to stop what was happening.

Jasper didn't answer, instead he yanked Peter's boxers down to his knees.

"I ummm... I don't," Peter stumbled, getting distracted as Jasper turned him around, placing his hands firmly on the edge of the dryer. "I think you should grow a pair. Man up and tell your parents we're working on a family. Maybe they'll surprise you by...fuck," he swore under his breath as Jasper dropped to his knees and began kissing a trail across the globes of his lover's ass.

"I mean," Peter panted as Jasper began to circle his entrance with his tongue, "what's the worst that could happen? Oh, sweet Christ... I um. I think they might just be really happy. They're gonna be... oh..." His legs spread, encouraging Jasper's tongue.

Jasper stood, aligning his body with Peter's and kissing his lover's neck. He snaked one hand around Peter's waist, finding his cock and stroking slowly. With his free hand, he reached between them, pushing his pants and boxers down. He aligned himself with Peter's entrance, pushing inside of him slowly as he kissed and nipped at his neck.

"You know," Peter said, his voice breathy, "you're a disrespectful prick. You're scared to tell your parents that you're having a baby with the man you love but you'll have sex with a man against their washing machine and oh, my god, don't stop," he cried quietly, pushing back against Jasper.

"Shhh," Jasper whispered against Peter's ear. "If you can't keep quiet, I'm going to have to stop."

"Fuck. Oh, please, baby, please," Peter whispered back.

Peter reached down, batting Jasper's distracted hand away so he could stroke himself. Jasper kept his hands firmly on his lover's waist, pushing and pulling him to the rhythm he wanted in the limited space they had.

They were relatively quiet - just panting and the light slap of their skin coming together mixed with the occasional low moan. Jasper bit hard against the cloth of Peter's shirt when he came, causing the brunette man to gasp wildly. He came to his senses just in time to catch Peter's orgasm in one of the rag scraps his mother kept above the washing machine.

Peter turned around, winding his arms around Jasper and kissing him softly, any hint of their argument forgotten. Using the rag scraps, they cleaned each other up.

Before either one of them could suggest leaving the sanctuary of the cramped little room, a cell phone chime sounded. They both started a little. The sound was the loudest noise they'd heard in a while.

Peter dug through his pocket, pulling out his phone as he leaned his head against Jasper's . He pressed a few buttons and Jasper watched as first confusion, then incredulity and finally awe lit his face. He turned his phone toward Jasper, showing him the image he'd received from Charlotte.

It was a pregnancy test. A positive pregnancy test.

Jasper snatched the phone from his lover's hand, pressing buttons with shaking fingers. He pressed his forehead against Peter's, putting the phone by both their ears.

"Congrats, Daddy," Charlotte's voice answered.

"It was the first try," Jasper said incredulously. "This stuff never happens on the first try."

Charlotte scoffed. "This is me we're talking about. I swear it's good I prefer women. A man puts his hands on me, I get pregnant. That's exactly how it happened."

"I'm sure that's exactly what happened," Peter teased. "Oh my God, Char… you're pregnant!"

She laughed. " _We_ are."

"Have you seen the doctor?" Jasper asked, suddenly outrageously anxious.

"I just peed on the stick 10 minutes ago."

"Charlotte. Make an appointment. I'll make one for you. And you can't drink or smoke. And no sushi. And no soda. And…" Jasper scrambled, trying to remember all the 'rules.'

"Jasper, calm your ass," Charlotte said, laughing. "Jesus, I'm glad you're halfway across the country right now. You know I swore off everything I needed to a month ago, and I've been taking the horse pills." Horse pills was Charlotte's name for the prenatal vitamins she absolutely hated.

"How are you feeling?" Peter asked.

"My tits are a little sore but I'm not really feeling anything yet," Charlotte answered patiently. "Now get off this phone. Celebrate. I'm taking care of your precious package, I promise."

The boys shot a couple more questions at her before she was able to convince them to hang up. When they did, there was a moment of silence between them. They stared at each other, the atmosphere undulating between an intense fear and an incredible joy.

"We're having a baby," Jasper whispered.

Peter grinned, then he giggled. It couldn't be described as anything other than a giggle – the sound was so bubbly and full of happiness.

Jasper cupped his face in his hands. "Peter. We're gonna be daddies."

Wrapping his arms around him, Peter pulled Jasper close, kissing him thoroughly, excitedly. They both laughed when they parted and then Jasper let out a loud whoop of joy.

It was too much happiness to be contained to the tiny room they were in, and so Jasper's hand scrambled at the door knob. He pushed the door open, stumbling out of the room only to come face to face with his father. "We're having a baby!" he blurted.

A gasp made Jasper aware that his mother was standing close by. He stood still, his mind still shocked about the idea of being a daddy, and waited for a reaction.

Deacon's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What were you two doing in there?"

Jasper blinked, his brain not quite grasping the question. It seemed horribly out of place amidst the happiness that had permeated the air just a moment before. "What?" he asked intelligently.

"What were you doing in there with him?" Deacon asked again, jutting his chin at Peter.

Jasper's eyes tightened slightly. "Laundry," he muttered dismissively.

"You didn't bring any clothes with you from the hotel," his father said stiffly.

Annoyance tinged with anger began to stir in the pit of Jasper's stomach. His broad grin fell. "Dad. Didn't you hear what I said? We're having a baby," he said slow, glancing over at Peter. "You're going to be a grandfather."

"There's nothing wrong with my hearing, boy. I'm not gonna pretend I understand what the devil you're talking about because last I heard, men can't birth children. I'll acknowledge what you say when you start making sense," Deacon retorted stiffly. "You're adopting a baby, then?"

By then Jasper's grin had disappeared completely, becoming a hard line, as he tried to keep his temper bottled back. He didn't realize his fists were clenched until he felt Peter's hand over his, trying to unwind his fingers. Jasper made an effort to unclench that hand enough to twine his fingers with Peter's. "We're not adopting. We're having a baby. You know, the kind that take nine months to bake."

Deacon studied his son, obviously at a loss as to what he was talking about. "What, did you get another gal pregnant? You're actually going to take responsibility this time. Is that what this is about?"

Rage made it difficult for Jasper to remember that the man standing before him was his father. He took a step toward Deacon before Peter's hand gripped his wrist. "Babe," Peter said, leaning on the word, knowing he was making Deacon uncomfortable. "I need some air. Come with me outside?"

Jasper nodded curtly and let Peter guide him to the backyard. As the bite of cold air nipped at his skin, he felt his rationality return. He breathed in deeply. "I'm sorry," he said to Peter, resenting that his father had ruined such a beautiful moment.

"Same old shit, different day," his lover responded with a sigh. Though it took some effort, he smiled again. "I'm not going to let him ruin this for us. Today is a happy day."

Finding the gleam in Peter's eye, Jasper couldn't help but smile back. "Yeah, it is," he agreed, and the couple shared a slow, passionate kiss, just letting themselves reclaim their earlier joy.

They were interrupted by the sound of a door slamming - the front door if Jasper had to guess - followed by an engine being gunned. Curious, the men darted back inside. They found Maria in the kitchen... alone.

"Where's Dad?" Jasper asked carefully.

Maria looked up at him and smiled. Jasper could see it wasn't a complete smile, but it wasn't totally faked either, and that was something. "I told him to take a drive to clear his head." She patted Jasper lovingly on the cheek. " He'll come around, sweetheart. You know he's trying to understand."

"He's been trying for near about a damn decade now," Jasper growled, frustration edging his voice. "I'm so tired of this fight."

Nodding, Maria gestured at the table. Obediently, Jasper and Peter sat down and let her pour them tea. "Well," Maria began, her tone easy, "maybe you can try to understand him too, if you want him to try and understand you."

Jasper and Peter glanced at each other. Reaching over, the blond man clasped his lover's hand on top of the table. "You want me to understand that he thinks I should just be able to turn off who I am and love who he thinks I should love? I'm sorry, Momma. I can't understand that. I can listen to any ignorant asshole talk about me being unnatural and unholy and who knows what else, but he's my father. I know he loves me. I know he's trying. I just don't see how he can be so damn rude about it, and why it's so hard to accept after all this time. I love men. This man in particular, and now we're going to have a family. This should be a happy news."

Maria rubbed a hand over her eyes tiredly though a small, completely genuine smile played at the edge of her lips. "He's not so different from any other parent," she said softly. "Consider this, honey." She reached out, putting her hands over their clasped fingers. "We spent 18 years raising you, making decisions for you, punishing you when it was necessary because we knew better than you what you needed. It wasn't ever easy... to let you cry or make you cry. It wasn't easy when you yelled at us or thought we were ruining your life. You never want to see your children upset or hurting." She smiled gently. "It's something you'll learn soon enough."

She tapped a finger against her cup. "I suppose parenting is as difficult when your baby is grown as it was when they were growing, especially when your child - your precious, baby boy - tells you he wants something you can't comprehend. It's a hard habit to break - thinking that you should make decisions for your child. Sometimes we forget that you're capable of deciding what's best for yourself."

Jasper glanced over at his lover, finding the look on his face contemplative. He allowed the seed of this idea to permeate the bitter anger that made it difficult to look at Deacon's point of view.

"You know, when you first told us about your ... boyfriends, we both figured it was just a phase. Having you as young as we did, I know we put the fear of God into you about getting a girl in trouble in your teens. When I was in school, my best friend used to... you know..." she glanced furtively at her son, "let her boyfriend sodomize her because that didn't count. I figured it was just a natural progression."

"Jesus, God, Mom!" Jasper exclaimed, gripping his head while Peter quietly chortled. "I can't... don't... You're not allowed to talk that way."

Maria smiled at her son ruefully. "So, they tell me I'm finally going to be a grandma?" There was a cautious sort of hope in her voice. "Now, please be patient with me, honey. I know there are a lot of ways to go about getting yourself a family, but I'm just not used to all the options out there. I get to be a grandma to this one? Not like...the other?"

Jasper sighed but nodded. "Dash is Alice and Rosalie's son," he said for the millionth time, trying to infuse his tone with the very little patience he had left.

"It's a difficult thing for me to grasp, I hope you realize. When I got pregnant at 16 with you, a lot of people were clamoring about giving you up for adoption, and do you know what your grandma said to me?"

"What's that?"

"She said 'we can't have our own blood out there wandering the world without us'." Maria shook her head a little sadly. "It's hard to accept that he's not ours."

"Well, he isn't," Jasper said flatly. Then he allowed his voice to soften. "But this one is ours. Mine and Peter's."

"How does that work?"

~0~

They had to explain the situation repeatedly.

"Okay, I get that its your baby and all," Lucy said impatiently. "But who's the father? I mean ... biologically speaking."

"We don't know that for sure, little sister," Peter finally said.

"And we don't want to know," Jasper added.

"What does that mean?" Lucy asked, her face mirroring her parents' confusion.

"Uh...it means we both... contributed to the sample," Peter stumbled awkwardly.

The other three still looked clueless.

"You really want me to explain the process to you?" Jasper asked finally.

"It's just a ... medical procedure after all," Deacon mused, looking uncomfortable.

"Fine. Clinically speaking...here's the way it works..."

Twenty minutes later, Jasper was blushing from head to toe, but his family finally understood how his baby had been conceived.

"So wait..." Lucy said, and Jasper found himself cringing at the thought of what else she could possibly ask. "This is how the other baby was conceived, for real?" She blinked sporadically. "Holy hell, Bro. You really met that Alice gal  _after_ she was knocked up with that baby? Man, that must have been drama. How did that work out?"

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Darlin', that's an entirely different story."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Of course, the different story is Parenthetical Love. Bwah hahaha.
> 
> What, I find myself funny on occasion...
> 
> Anyway. Thanks to jadedandboring for yelling at me...I mean betaing. And thanks to barburella for being barbi. And thanks to y'all for being... amazing.


	6. Extended Immediate Family

"Santiago's eyes were such a beautiful shade of green. They would look just precious on a baby, I think. Don't you think, Peter?"

Jasper bit into a roll, ripping off a chunk with more force than was necessary. He tried to brush aside his irritation, reminding himself that this woman had given birth to the man who was the greatest gift of his life so far. It wasn't easy since Peter wasn't arguing. But they'd been down this road before. Peter never argued because arguing only made an annoying situation ugly.

"I don't remember what Santiago's eyes were like. That was a long time ago," Peter said, his tone carefully even.

"Oh, of course you remember his eyes. You went on and on about them, once upon a time."

Glancing to his side, Jasper saw that Peter was glaring at his mother who was eating with a nonchalance that indicated she was oblivious to how rude and hurtful her comments were. That assuaged his wounded pride. "I'm kind of hoping he or she has Peter's eyes." He bumped his lover's side gently and smiled. "Prettiest blue I've ever seen."

Peter's features eased as he looked over, smiling back. Under the table, their fingers entwined.

"Woman, did I hear you running your fool mouth about that Santiago asshat again?" Mr. Damon said as he came into the room. He set a box down on the empty chair beside them.

"We're having dinner, Warren," Nettie groused. "What are you doing with that box? It's covered in dirt."

"Nettie, I love you, and because I love you, I'm going to ignore you so you don't annoy me," Warren muttered, and Jasper had to cover his mouth to hide a chuckle.

"What are you doing, Dad?" Peter asked, curiously craning to see what his father was rummaging for.

"Looking for something I want to give my grandbaby," Warren muttered. His eyes lit up as he grabbed at something in the box. "Ah, here it is," he said, pulling out the first piece of a train set.

Peter grabbed at the engine. "Hey, I remember this."

"It was mine and then it was yours," Warren said, smiling hugely. "And now it will be my grandson's."

"What if it's a girl?" Jasper asked softly, loving that Mr. Damon was already so involved.

"Then it will be my granddaughter's. I imagine train sets have as much appeal for little girls," Warren mused.

Peter looked at Jasper and the two shared a private smile, both of them bursting with curiosity about their baby.

"Oh," Nettie said, putting her hands to her cheeks as if she was trying to contain her grin. "I hope it's a little girl. "I still have my old dolls...and my teddy bear. I loved it so much." She patted her son on the arm. "Maybe she will too."

The evening devolved into conversation surrounding the baby, from names to the obligatory sage, parental advice. Warren just cackled, reminding them that children becoming parents was the best revenge for grandparents the world over.

_**~0~** _

Early risers, the elder Damons had long since retired to bed by the time the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve. Jasper and Peter were stretched out on the couch, Peter lying against the blond man's chest as they watched the replay of Times Square. As the fireworks went off in the distance, Peter craned his head back and Jasper tilted his head forward as they shared a thorough New Year's kiss.

They parted with a wet smack, both of their phones going off at the same time.

"Hey, Momma, happy New Year," Jasper said at the same time Peter answered, "Charlotte!"

Jasper idly played with Peter's hair, more curious about his conversation than he was with what his mother was saying,. "You sound really tired, Mom. Why don't you join Dad in bed?... Yeah, I love you."

"It sounds like a really happening party over there," Peter was saying, chuckling into the phone.

"Where is she?" Jasper asked, frowning at the idea that Charlotte would be out partying. That didn't seem like the best idea. Even if she wasn't drinking - and Jasper was sure she wouldn't...really - she would be around rowdy people who were drinking.

Peter eyed him. "Relax. She's just with the Cullens," he said, his voice admonishing.

Jasper felt slightly sheepish.

"No, Jasper's just being a worry-wart. He thought you took our baby clubbing," Peter said into the phone. He waited a minute than nodded, handing the phone to Jasper. "Bella wants to say hi."

Jasper took the phone from Peter, laughing lightly when he heard the commotion of the gathered clan and a high pitched baby babbling near the phone. " _Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi,"_  Arianna chattered, followed by a flurry of giggles.

"Sounds like you have your hands full, sugar," Jasper said.

" _Sugar is exactly what happened here. Dad. Will you take her? You're the one who wound her up_."

Jasper laughed so hard that both his and Peter's bodies were shaking. Peter just looked amused.

" _Laugh it up_ ," Bella said, sounding slightly frazzled. " _But don't come crying to me when you have a hyperactive baby on your hands. She nearly got into the eggnog_."

"You love her," Jasper reminded.

" _That is well and truly beside the point_ ," Bella said, but he could hear the love in her voice. " _Happy New Year, Jasper. How's Georgia treating you_?"

"We're going to be paying a fortune with the extra luggage we're bringing back," Jasper answered, winding his fingers through Peter's and pulling him closer. "Suffice to say the grandparents are excited."

" _This is only the beginning. You should have seen the haul Ari pulled in for Christmas_ ," Bella said with a sigh. " _Between her, Dash and the twins, it was Santa's Workshop in here. I'm surprised there was room for all of us_."

Jasper had to smile, remembering the year previous when Bella had begged him to come to Christmas with the Cullens. She was still getting used to the idea that she'd been adopted into such a large family. Somewhere, there was a picture of a wide-eyed, flush cheeked Bella with her six week old daughter in her arms, looking like she wasn't quite sure she belonged there. Now she sounded like an old hand - as if she'd been surrounded by the insanity of the Cullen household all her life.

Though he enjoyed spending time with his family and Peter's, looking around the quiet, sedate household, Jasper couldn't help but feel a pang that he wasn't there with them.

" _Alice is giving me a death glare. I guess I'm hogging you_ ," Bella said.

"You'd better hand the phone over. That one can get a little fierce," he said with a fond smile.

"Give Edward a kiss for me. Make sure there's tongue!" Peter called so Bella could hear.

" _I don't know which one of us should be more worried about that_ ," Bella muttered, but she was laughing.

A second later, she was replaced by another cheerful voice. "Happy New Year, Jasper."

"Happy almost New Year, Ali."

" _Little man, did you want to say hello to Jasper_?" Alice prompted.

" _Hi, Ja_ ," came a quiet, sleepy voice. " _New Year_!" he said, though it sounded more like 'N'yer' than anything else.

"Hey, Squirt," Jasper greeted. "Go to sleep!"

He heard Alice's tinkling laugh and a rustle as she no doubt shifted the little boy off to someone else. They talked briefly about plans for New Year's Day before Jasper became aware of Peter's increasingly dead weight against his chest.

"Looks like I have a boy of my own to put to bed, sugar," he said to Alice.

" _You do that then. I gotta go anyway. Dash is crashing_."

"Give him a kiss for me. And Alice?"

" _Yeah_?"

"Make sure Charlotte doesn't drive home tonight. There's going to be too many drunk drivers on the road to Santa Monica," he said, his mouth tightening with this fear.

Alice chuffed. " _She's staying here, Jasper, don't worry_." He could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

"Thank you, honey."

" _Any time."_

_**~0~** _

"Ugh. I hope you two realize how much I love you," Nettie groused, yawning as she got in the car. "Who flies this early in the morning, anyway?"

"Jasper has a meeting at three. We gave you a choice, remember, Mom?" Peter said, rubbing his eyes. "There was a flight that left yesterday afternoon."

Nettie bobbed her head as if to say yeah, yeah, yeah. She reached over and patted Peter's cheek. "At the time, an extra night with my boys seemed worth the effort." She yawned again. "At five thirty in the morning, though..."

A drive-thru run for coffee an what could pass for breakfast livened the three of them up a bit. Jasper was mostly silent in the backseat as he worked his way through e-mails on his BlackBerry, trying to get back in the Hollywood, mile a minute mindset. The atmosphere in Texas and Georgia was definitely a lot more relaxed.

"Oh, honey," Nettie said suddenly, her voice excited as she grabbed Peter's hand, holding it tightly. "Just think. The next time I see you, you'll be a daddy," she sighed, sounding distinctly teary. "Oh, but I shouldn't jinx it like that. It's early yet in the pregnancy, and there's a reason people tell you not to tell anyone until the second trimester."

"That's superstitious, Mom," Peter muttered. Jasper frowned, momentarily distracted from guest stars falling through. He was suddenly over-eager to get home, where he could see for himself that Charlotte was safe and sound.

"You're right," Nettie said. "Done is done. You've already told everyone." She chuckled. "I'm so happy."

"You might have mentioned that a time or two," Peter said, sounding amused.

"You're an only child, Peter. You're my only hope for grandkids. I know a thing or two about this modern world of ours. You know Miss Carmen down the street? Her daughter kept putting off kids, and putting off kids and now she's 42. Not that it can't happen - did you hear about the woman who gave birth in her sixties? Her  _sixties_! - but before Miss Carmen gets too frail to hold them?" She shook her head. "You two have always been so busy, busy, busy, and since you can't come by babies accidentally well...I worried."

When they got to the airport, Nettie got out of the car to give them both a hug. "Remember, I want constant updates," she said, wagging a finger. "You keep me in the loop. And when she's born, I'm staying for a while. You wrap your head around that now because I'm not taking no for an answer."

Peter gave Jasper a look and both men laughed.

"We wouldn't dream of saying no, Grandma," Jasper said, kissing the woman's forehead.

Nettie put her hands to her mouth, her eyes automatically tearing. "Grandma..." She gave a giddy little giggle. "Oh, that feels better than I thought it would."

The plane ride home offered, like before, too much time to think. Jasper tried to push down the unreasonable worry. Being a Hollywood man didn't help, he expected, as some of his worries were downright ridiculous. He thought about the world of possibilities - worthy of made for TV movies. What if Charlotte decided she wanted this baby? It had happened to Bella, to an extent. He still remembered the way she'd cried, pregnant and helpless, in his arms when things were bad between them and Edward was threatening to take her to court for custody of their daughter. Suddenly, using the same clinic seemed like the stupidest idea ever. What if they'd swapped the sperm again?

What if, as Nettie suggested, something happened before the baby could form?

Frustrated with himself, Jasper pushed away those useless worries. What would happen would happen, and he couldn't deal with it until it did. That was the rub about pregnancy, he'd learned from Bella and Alice. There wasn't a lot that could be prepared for. He would help keep Charlotte healthy and happy. Other than that, life, as always, would take its course.

Instead, Jasper concentrated on the good things. Though he knew the baby would never lack for a caring extended family - the Cullens had been more than firm on that point - it was a relief that both sets of grandparents were ecstatic. The Damons had been supportive and happy from the first word. They hadn't even asked who the baby's genetic father was. After their initial bump in the road, the Whitlocks had let excitement overwrite their uncertainty about the logistics of the situation.

Jasper smiled to himself, considering the meaning of family.

Both sets of parents had remarked on the changing world more than once during that trip. It was amazing to think that they weren't so far away from a time when family had been simple. A man and a woman got together, they procreated, and approximately 20 years later, their children procreated. So many immediate families consisted of just grandparents, parents and siblings.

But, in that world, Jasper and Peter might not have been able to live together in peace, let alone been able to have a family. Simple it wasn't, but it had occurred to him more than once that a well lived life never was easy.

Looking over at Peter, Jasper could never regret that his personal life was so much more complicated than his ancestors ever could have dealt with.

_**~0~** _

The post-holiday meeting at the Saturday Night Delayed office felt horrendously long. He wanted to get home, knowing that his family was waiting.

His family.

The love of his life, and his child, nestled as it was in Charlotte's womb. Jasper was distracted by the idea that someday soon, he would come home every night to his baby.

The drive to home felt ridiculously long, and Jasper had to stop himself more than once from speeding excessively. He reminded himself that there was always that possibility that he would be the cause of the made-for-TV movie. What a story that would have been - if he died in a car accident, leaving Peter alone to raise their unborn baby.

"Honies, I'm home!" Jasper called in a truly horrid approximation of Ricky Ricardo's accent. He heard snickering further on in the house and found Peter and Charlotte in the kitchen.

Charlotte stood, holding her hand up to stop the rush of questions that bubbled up to his lips. "I feel fine - except for the tits thing, which is honestly a little bit of a turn on - the doctor's appointment is tomorrow. You obviously know the conception date and you're better at math than I am so you'd know better than I would the due date."

Jasper laughed, pulling Charlotte into his arms for a careful, tight hug. "You're incredible for doing this. You know that, right?"

"Honey, I'm amazing," Charlotte responded, squeezing him back.

His hands on her hips, Jasper sunk to his knees right there on the kitchen floor. He moved one hand over Charlotte's flat belly, looking up at her. "Is this okay?"

Charlotte waved her hand. "Anytime. This is your pregnancy, not mine."

Peter walked over, sinking down beside him. Placing his head against Charlotte's belly, he grinned at his lover. "That's our baby in here."

Jasper laid his head next to Peter's, wrapping one arm around Charlotte's waist while he entwined the fingers of their free hands. Their heads jiggled as Charlotte laughed, running her hands through their hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yes, shorter chapter this time. But I do believe next chapter will be longer. And nookie might be involved. Though don't hold me to it. Those pregnancy hormones can be murder on the sex drive.
> 
> Thank you to barburella - even though she thinks old ladies SHOULD be up at 5:30 (NO ONE should be up at 5:30... ew). And many thanks to my lovely jadedandboring.


	7. Sugar and Spice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: It has been pointed out to me that Georgia is on East Coast time and therefore the ball would be dropping live. That was geography fail on my part. Hehe. Thanks TwilightMundi. Mwah.
> 
> Um...I beg for your forgiveness ahead of time. Heheh

**~January~**

Jasper was a man on a mission.

The beginning of the year was always a hectic period. Jasper was pulling 60 hours a week or more at the studio in preparation for the new season and Peter always had to travel the first month of the year.

If it wasn't their jobs, it was their friends. The denizens of Hollywood rarely needed an excuse to party and if they had one, a wild night was preordained. It was a relatively unique thing that they could congratulate the expecting couple by plying them with copious quantities of alcohol, so Jasper found himself nursing more than one hangover that month.

In all the chaos of work, congratulations and rearranging their busy schedules around Charlotte's doctor's appointments, Jasper had not seen his lover naked in entirely too long. That was going to change. He was hungry, starving for the other man's touch.

And he would be satisfied.

"Peter!" he called as he entered the house.

"Over here, baby," Peter called back.

The front foyer. Jasper was pleased. He set down down his laptop bag and moved through the house, untucking his shirt. He felt feral - an animal on the hunt - ready to pounce.

Seeing his prey, Jasper felt a low growl building in his chest. Peter was in the living room, flipping through a week's worth of mail they'd been neglecting.

It could wait for another hour. Maybe four. Maybe more.

He sprang into action, wrapping his arms around Peter's waist. Keeping one hand on his hip, Jasper snaked the other one down his lover's front, cupping him roughly.

"Fuck... baby," Peter moaned, dropping the mail to the floor.

"Yes," Jasper growled, nipping at the other man's neck aggressively. "Fuck. Baby."

"Jesus," Peter gasped, his hand going back, gripping wildly at Jasper's neck, up into his hair. His breath was uneven, as if moving to the frantic rhythm of a club in full swing. He stuttered, swallowing hard, trying to speak, but Jasper was determined not to let him.

Overwhelm and confuse the prey - it was easier to take them down that way.

"Shhhh," Jasper demanded. Putting both his hands on Peter's hips, he spun the brown haired man around roughly. Hands on his face, Jasper pulled his lover to him. He kissed hard, his tongue sliding passed Peter's lips and stroking. "If you want to talk so badly when I'm trying to fuck you, I'm going to have to occupy your pretty little mouth." He let his hands drift down to Peter's neck, stroking gently - completely contrary to all his previous actions. He let a grin spread, slow and hot, across half his face. He titled his head, trapping Peter with his eyes. "I got other plans for you, sugar." He kissed him again, sweetly. "For us."

Wide eyed, Peter licked his lips. He nodded, bringing his hands up to rest on Jasper's chest. "Anything you want. Anything."

Jasper kissed his lips, soft and slow, his hands reaching around to palm his lover's ass, pushing him flush against his body. His own moan was suggestive. "That's good." He kissed the space between Peter's upper lip and his nose. Pushing forward, he stepped Peter backward one step at a time, kissing him once for each step - his checks, his chin, his neck.

Peter's feet hit the back of the stairs and he stumbled backward, falling on his ass onto the steps with an, "Oof."

Jasper didn't give him time to recover. Instead, he kept coming, kept pressing forward. Peter pushed himself up one step, two steps. The blond man knelt on the lower step, voraciously attacking the other man's neck as he crushed Peter's body underneath him.

As they kissed on the stairs, Jasper worked a hand between their writhing bodies, rubbing and unbuttoning, keeping himself balanced on his free hand.

Peter's fingers were everywhere - grabbing at Jasper's hair, digging into the skin of his shoulders as he pulled at his shirt, trying to work the buttons of his shirt, jeans...whatever he could get at.

Jasper had just wrapped his fingers around the base of Peter's cock when his phone rang.

"Fuck," they cursed in unison.

It took a few seconds for the ring tone to sink in. "That's Charlotte," he realized, thinking out loud.

"Charlotte," Peter repeated dumbly.

They both scrambled upright, Peter pulling his pants up so he could reach for his phone.

"Char? What's going on?"

Jasper quickly forgot about sex when he saw Peter's face fall.

"Honey, you need to call the doctor, okay? Call the doctor and tell him exactly that," Peter said, looking around frantically.

"What is it? What's going on?" Jasper asked urgently.

Peter raised a finger, motioning for him to be silent. "Char, call him right away and call us back. We're on our way to you." He hung up, looking to Jasper with frightened eyes. "Charlotte said she's bleeding. Not...profusely." He waved his hand, flustered. "Spotting, she said."

_**~0~** _

Hours later they were all back at Charlotte's apartment. Charlotte was lying across the couch, her feet on Peter's lap. Jasper was at the window, staring out of it, deep in thought.

"Honey, everything's okay," Charlotte said softly, sounding tired. "I shouldn't have even called you."

Jasper turned, his hands on his hips. "What are you talking about? Of course you sould have called us."

"I knew spotting could be normal. I just panicked," she continued. She stroked her still flat stomach idly. "I'm just going to take it easy for a few days, like the doctor said. Everything's going to be okay."

"You don't know that," Jasper said softly.

"Baby..." Peter started but he didn't seem to know how to continue.

"I'm sorry," Jasper said quickly. "It's just that... it took us so long to get here. Santa Monica is really too far..." He ducked his head, his mind still racing with too many thoughts to process.

"What are you saying?" Peter asked when the silence stretched on.

Jasper wiped a hand over his eyes. "I don't know really..." He looked up, finding two sets of eyes on him. "I want... I want us all to consider Charlotte moving in for a while." Both of their eyebrows shot up, and Jasper held his hands out in a placating motion. "Hear me out."

Turning to Peter he said, "If you don't agree with me, you know you can tell me. It's our house, not mine, but... I'd like it to be an option. We can take care of Charlotte there and if... something happens..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, you know if what happened to Alice happened when she was alone, Dash wouldn't have made it. It would just make me feel better."

He looked at Charlotte. "And Char, we have the room. You would still have space and privacy. We'd pay for the extra gas it takes to commute here. Or hell, take leave from the shop, if that's what you want to do. You know you'll want for nothing with us."

Peter and Charlotte looked at each other, uncertain but not dismissing the idea outright.

"Just think about it," Jasper implored.

_**~March~** _

"All of these sites have tips for Daddy," Peter said. He was sitting on the floor with his back against the couch, pouring over week-by-week pregnancy websites.

"Hmm," Jasper said, somewhat distracted by his own laptop.

"Yes. We need to look into wills, and make sure we're connecting with Mommy. Since she's feeling better, apparently, now is a great time to take walks and make sure we hold hands," Peter read. He clicked. "And this week suggests that Mommy would really benefit from hugs."

"Hugs, hmm?"

"Yeah. And neck massages."

"Hmmm," Jasper said, shutting down his laptop and setting it aside. He stood, walking over and sitting behind Peter on the couch. The brunette man reached back, squeezing his hand briefly before returning to his browsing.

Smirking to himself, Jasper began to massage Peter's neck. "Yeah... you know..." Peter tried to keep up with his train of thought. "These sites say that Charlotte should begin to feel the baby any day now." He tilted his head and Jasper's fingers worked over his skin. "We uh... um..."

"Yes?" Jasper prompted, reaching Peter's shoulders.

"Fuck, that feels good," Peter breathed.

Jasper leaned down, kissing the side of the other man's head as he continued moving his fingers. Peter reached up, his hand reaching around to the back of Jasper's neck and pulling him down further. Their lips met, sugar sweet kisses heating like chocolate melting against a hot surface - like they lost their shape to pool together.

Never disconnecting their lips for more than a scant second, Peter stood, quickly straddling Jasper on the couch. With his hands braced on the back of the couch on either side of Jasper's head, he leaned in, kissing his lover hard. Jasper groaned, his fingers clamping down hard on each side of Peter's ass.

"Want you," Jasper growled in the seconds his lips were free.

"Take me," Peter answered against his lips.

Jasper wasted no time endeavoring to do just that. His hands went to Peter's side and he quickly started to yank his pants down, eager to have his lover wrapped around him - skin to skin.

No sooner had Peter's ass been exposed than the front door banged open. "Guys! Guys! Guess what!" Charlotte exclaimed as she ran through the door. "I- Whoa! Oh, fuck!"

Peter rolled off Jasper, tugging his pants up as he went. They were both breathing hard, their faces flushed with exertion. Jasper grabbed a couch cushion to hide his erection.

"I thought you were going to visit a friend," Peter said breathlessly, bringing his legs up on the couch and squirming slightly as he tried to find a comfortable position.

"I was but... Um..." From the look on her face, it was clear that Charlotte was trying not to laugh.

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Oh, go ahead and laugh. You know you want to."

Charlotte laughed so hard she had to sit down. "I'm sorry," she said, gasping for breath. "I mean... this is what you wanted, right? For me to feel right at home?" She giggled. "I mean... maybe we should get a sock on the door system going or something..."

"You're fine, honey," Peter said, smiling fondly. "You're right. We should be more careful when we have guests." He grinned at Jasper impishly. "Now what did you come back to tell us?"

"Oh, it almost seems silly now. I just got excited because I felt the baby move..."

_**~June~** _

"What's wrong with Beth?" Peter challenged.

"Nothing's wrong with Beth. Why are you stuck on Beth so much, anyway?" Jasper asked. Ever since they'd found out they were having a little girl, they'd been trying to decide on names. Jasper remembered how Bella and Edward argued over it for months. At the time, he'd rolled his eyes. Now he knew better. He and Peter had been at it for a month and a half so far.

Peter shrugged. "You'll laugh at me."

They were lying in bed, enjoying a peaceful Sunday morning. Jasper rolled onto his side so he could look at his lover, laughing lightly at the somewhat sheepish expression on his face. He ran a tender hand through Peter's hair, twirling a lock around a single finger absently. His hair was getting so long again... "I won't laugh at you," he promised.

Peter's eyes met his, and he raised a hand, tracing the line of Jasper's chin. With a sigh, he relented. "Did you ever read Little Women?"

Jasper just raised an eyebrow. "One of the sisters was named Beth."

"I just always liked that character," Peter murmured. "She was quiet, gentle and sweet. But so strong." Peter got a gleam in his eye then - the gleam that was always there when he spoke of their child and the things he wanted for her. "When I thought about having a daughter, I always hoped she would be like that."

"Hmmm," Jasper considered, his chest warming as his heart seemed to expand. Every once in a while, the idea that he was about to become a father truly struck him and he was filled with more love than he knew what to do with. "Didn't Beth die in that book?" he asked, unable to resist teasing his lover.

Peter smacked his bare chest. "It wasn't a character flaw that killed her, asshole. Anyway, They can cure what she had today." His brow furrowed. "At least, I think so..."

Jasper laughed, rolling back onto his back. "Well, Beth might be a good middle name. I still like Annie."

"Annie Beth?" Peter asked dubiously. "You want to name our baby Annie Beth Damon-Whitlock? What's so great about Annie anyway?"

"I like Annie," Jasper defended. "It's... spunky. Sassy, spunky girls are always named Annie and, incidentally, they're usually strong too,"

"Jasper Whitlock, you're going to eat your words when she's a teenager. Sassy is cute for a little one but your'e asking for a world of hurt when she's a teenager," Peter said, laughing. "Besides, it's just so...yokel."

"Yokel?" Jasper protested, looking over at him.

"Yokel," Peter reaffirmed. "It's too... Annie Get Your Gun." He rose to his knees on the bed beside Jasper, pretending to raise a microphone to his mouth. "'Anything you can do I can do better,'" he sang in the most god-awful, high pitched approximation of a Southern accent as he could. "'I can do anything better than-'" He cut off with a yelp as Jasper caught him around the waist, pulling him back on the bed.

Jasper quickly tangled his legs with Peter's trying to keep the upper hand. Peter wasn't about to make it easy. The two men wrestled, tangling limbs and bedsheets as they grunted and laughed. It took only a minute before Jasper had gotten Peter on his knees again. He knelt behind him, wresting Peter's arms behind his back.

Leaning over him, Jasper put his lips against Peter's ear. "What was that? Anything I can do, you can do better? Hmm?"

"Fuck... baby," Peter said breathlessly. He squirmed in Jasper's hold. Obviously, their wrestling had gotten him quite worked up.

Then again, their wrestling had gotten Jasper worked up too.

Carefully, keeping his hands wrapped around his lover's wrist, he moved Peter's hands - one at a time - to the headboard. "You'd best keep hold of that," he rumbled against Peter's ear. The other man whimpered, the sound going straight to Jasper's cock.

Moving slowly, teasing and titillating, Jasper kisses, nipped and licked his way from Peter's shoulders, licking a line down his spine and leaving a love bite on his right cheek before he began to tease Peter's entrance with his tongue.

"Yes. Jasper, please," Peter moaned as the blond man teasingly moved his tongue deeper. He would circle the sensitive flesh, plunge in slowly and flick Peter's walls with his tongue until his lover was writhing and pleading.

Jasper straightened up, stroking his cock as he lined himself up with Peter's body. "Is this what you want, babe? You want me here?"

"God. Fuck. Yes. Now. Please."

It always drove Jasper crazy when Peter got all monosyllabic. Almost frantic himself, Jasper slid into Peter quickly.

And that was when their door swung open and Charlotte darted by. "I'm sorry guys. I'm so sorry but I can't-" was all she got out before she reached their bathroom. The startled men jumped, both at her sudden intrusion and because of the loud clap of the door slamming shut.

The retching they heard a second later was a boner-killer...to say the least.

"Honey?" Peter called as he pulled on his robe. He rapped once on the door but the only answer was more retching. "I'm coming in."

Half an hour later, Jasper emerged from a shower - a cold shower - to find a rather miserable looking Charlotte curled up in bed with his lover, her head on his now clothed chest. Peter was smoothing her sweat-slicked hair back, trying to soothe her. Jasper clucked in sympathy, sliding into his side of the bed and rubbing her back.

"Ugh," Charlotte groaned. "It's good I've never had a problem with morning sickness. This sucks." She paused before rolling over slightly. "I'm sorry, by the way."

Jasper just smirked at her. "Don't be sorry," he said simply.

Charlotte snorted, cuddling closer to Peter. "I guess I'm really not. I just couldn't make it to my room." She chuckled. "Besides, you better get used to this. This one," she said, patting her burgeoning belly, "is not going to understand boundaries for a long time. Mark my words - they have a radar built in.

"I dated this woman with a kid once. I swear to Christ... every single time my mouth touched her pussy, the kid would come flying in. Every. Single. Time."

The boys laughed until Charlotte groaned. "Stop giggling. You shake the bed."

Peter took that opportunity to ask her opinion on the Beth vs Annie debate.

"Dudes, that is so easy to compromise on, it's not even funny," Charlotte mumbled, her eyelids drooping. "Bethany...nimrods."

"Bethany..." Jasper repeated. He loved it instantly.

Looking over at Peter, Jasper could see that they were - finally - in agreement. Smiles spread over their faces and their hands joined over Charlotte's belly...over their daughter. Bethany.

Looking down at the now sleeping woman who was doing this incredible thing for them, Peter's lips pursed. "Bethany Charlotte?" he asked Jasper.

As if joining the conversation, Bethany moved beneath their joined hands, and both the men's smiles turned wondrous.

"Bethany Charlotte," Jasper agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: *ducks rotten tomatoes* I know, I know. I'll make it up to you.
> 
> So, I'm considering attempting a drabble fic because I have this idea that would actually work well as a drabble and not much else. My question to you is - what slashy pairings do you like to read?


	8. Patchwork

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Goodness, gracious. Time really got away from me. So sorry about how long it's been since last update!

Jasper reflected that he really should have been suspicious when Charlotte asked for first breakfast and then a movie.

It went without saying that Charlotte had been pampered and spoiled rotten during the entire pregnancy. If she would have let him, Jasper would have carried her everywhere, not letting her feet touch the floor. As it was, both he and Peter went out of their way to get her anything she wanted or thought she might want. Every craving was catered to, and Charlotte had been subjected to a steady stream of massages, pedicures, manicures and anything else the men could think of.

Charlotte had never asked for anything because she'd never had to.

That morning, however, she'd dragged them out of bed, claiming a sudden and fervent desire for a popular breakfast buffet down the street. She took her sweet time, devouring so many plates, Jasper wondered where she was fitting it all. Even with the ginormous baby belly, Charlotte was slight. After breakfast, she'd further declared that they were taking her to a movie.

So why Jasper jumped a mile when he opened his front door to be greeted with cheers of "Surprise!" he didn't really know.

Their living room was overflowing with friends.

"What's all this?" Peter asked, recovering first.

"Your power of observation leaves much to be desired," Charlotte snickered from behind them. "What do you think it is? It's a baby shower."

_**~0~** _

"I still can't believe you did this. And all in a few hours?" Jasper said, looking around his daughter's new nursery in awe.

In the few hours they'd been gone, the Cullen family had transformed the space into a room built for a princess.

"I don't know if you noticed, but there are a lot of us," Bella said, looking around the room. "Even with all the paint, it doesn't take so long when you have a small army."

Most of the guests had gone and the Cullens were the only ones left - helping clean up the mess from the party and put together some of the bigger items the men had been gifted with. Edward and Emmett were supposed to be assembling the swinging cradle, but from what Jasper could hear, the brothers were doing more bickering than putting together.

"I'm just happy you like it," Esme said. She and Alice were sitting cross legged on the floor, finding places to stash the bounty of clothes, blankets, bibs, burping cloths and, well, everything else the boys and Bethany had been gifted with.

Peter wrapped his arms around Jasper's waist, resting his chin on his lover's shoulder. "What's not to like? This is really wonderful. It's just a little overwhelming." Jasper nodded his agreement.

Esme looked confused. "Overwhelming?"

Before either could clarify, Arianna toddled into the room followed by her watchful father - it seemed that Rosalie had taken his place in swing assembly. Jasper was distracted, his lips quirking as the little girl looked around the room, probably curious why most of the adults left over from the party had congregated here.

Inexplicably, Arianna - standing in the middle of the room with absolutely nothing touching her - burst into tears, her little face going bright red with complete misery. The adults in the room all turned, startled, as Edward and Bella rushed to their daughter's side.

"Ari..." Edward knelt, looking the girl over. Jasper could tell he was holding back panic. "Baby, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Not well versed in sobbing toddler speak, Jasper had no clue what the little girl's response was. Luckily for her, Edward and Bella seemed to be fluent and Edward swept the little girl into his arms, holding her tightly. "You know that's not true, baby. Why would you said that?"

"Ari thinks they don't love her," Alice translated, coming to standing beside him.

"What?" Jasper asked, completely incredulous. "Why?"

Alice scoffed. "Honey, now is a good time to disabuse yourself of the notion that toddlers make sense."

"We love you very much," Bella said softly, rubbing Ari's back. "What makes you think that we don't?"

"Don't wanna seep here!" Arianna sobbed, promptly burying her head in Edward's neck. "Don't gimmie 'way!"

"What...Oh!" Edward exclaimed and then he laughed lightly. He stood, shaking his head as he looked at the others. "It's the crib. It's the same as her crib. Same mobile too." He held his daughter at arms length - a feat given that the little girl clung to him like she was about to be thrown into a fire pit - and wiped the tears away from her face. "Ari, this isn't your crib. This is for the new baby. Remember?"

The baby looked dubious, but she settled for moodily clinging to Edward, quieting down.

Bella shook her head. "That's what we get for reusing," she muttered. "We were trying to be environmentally friendly. Ari never had to use the crib that was in Edward's house," she explained.

"Hey, going green isn't a bad thing," Jasper assured.

"Obviously, it's a good crib. I had no idea Ari was so attached that she would recognize it," Edward said, laughing as he continued to rub the moody toddler's back. "Come on, baby," he said to his daughter. "Let's go find Dash, okay?"

Jasper watched them leave, his heart aching with an odd craving. He loosed himself from Peter's embrace, suddenly needy to connect with his own daughter. Crossing the room to where Charlotte was rocking in their brand new, sliding rocking chair - a gift from Jacob and Lizzie - he knelt at her side, looking up with an appreciative smile as he pressed his hand to her distended belly.

Patient as ever, Charlotte took his hand, moving it down low on one side of her belly. "This should be her head. I mean, unless she's a contortionist," she teased. "She was kicking up a storm earlier. I think it was the music."

Jasper laid his head against the spot Charlotte indicated. "You're going to love your new room, baby girl," he murmured to his daughter, not even caring that the rest of the room was watching him.

_**~0~** _

"What did you mean earlier," Esme asked the boys a little later. "When you said you were overwhelmed?"

Jasper glanced at Peter, running his hand through his hair self consciously. "It's just.. it's a lot. What you've done with us. I'm not sure I understand..."

"What's to understand?" Carlisle asked, standing beside his wife, looked equally perplexed.

"We're not your kids. We're not even married to your kids. Our parents didn't think to do this for us." Peter clarified.

Carlisle and Esme exchanged a glance. "I would say distance is a factor there," Esme said quietly, "but that's beside the point." She looked at them curiously. "You are family. You know that, right?"

"You of all people should know that family isn't about blood, it's what you make of it," Carlisle pointed out.

Jasper tapped his lips, musing with the idea of cobbling together a family like one might make a patchwork quilt. He looked over to where Rosalie and Alice were bundling up Dash - the little boy was dead weight, having conked out about a half hour before.

He liked the idea of simply being a family. No further definitions - just part of a unit of wonderful people.

Jasper smiled at the elder Cullens, pulling Esme into his arms. "Thank you. For everything." He handed Esme over to Peter so he could hug Carlisle. "Really."

"That's not everything," Alice said, coming up beside them. "We're adopting Charlotte for the evening." She leaned in closer. " We heard you could use a little alone time before the baby comes," she said with a wink.

"Alice!" Peter hissed, turning scarlet.

"Tell me I'm wrong," she said, laughing. "Come on, every couple needs a little alone time before baby. And you guys have it better than most. No ungainly belly to get in your way."

"I liked your belly," Rosalie said, leaning over their son to kiss Alice. "It was very sexy."

"Honey, everything about me is sexy," the raven haired woman shot back. "But you had to admit, it made maneuvering a ... challenge."

"Hey, hey. La la la," Carlisle cried, putting his hands over his ears. "My children - they have no sex drive."

"So your grandchildren..."

"The stork, obviously," Carlisle said seriously, reaching down to scoop up Arianna as she toddled into his legs. "Right, Ari? Say yes."

"Yes," the little girl agreed, nodding amiably. She grinned when her grandfather smiled at her.

Rosalie and Edward glanced at each other. "Mom," Edward said, folding his arms dubiously. "I think Dad has had too much to drink. You're driving, right?"

_**~0~** _

When everyone had gone home, Jasper wandered back to his daughter's nursery.

It really was a thing of beauty, but it made him inexplicably nervous. He leaned against the door jamb, his arms crossed as he took in everything from Bethany's name, intricately painted above her crib - obviously Alice's doing - to the toy box full of baby-appropriate toys.

"It's getting real, isn't it?" Peter murmured, wrapping one arm around Jasper's waist and resting his head against the blond man's shoulder. "I think we were procrastinating with the nursery, now that I think of it. Because now..."

"Now all we're missing is a baby," Jasper rumbled back, his heart beginning to pound hard against his ribcage.

"Just a few more weeks," Peter said, marveling.

But Jasper could hear the tinge of fear in his voice.

He turned, taking Peter's face in his hands. He studied his lover's features, trying to figure where this sudden discomfort had come from.

Since he had no words to explain what he was feeling, Jasper leaned in, pressing his lips to Peter's. It took only a handful of sweet, tiny pecks before a sort of desperation set in. Grabbing Peter by his shoulders, Jasper pushed him back, pinning him up against the wall

The noise Peter made was half gasp, half moan. "Babe…what are you doing?" he said in the scant seconds his lips were free. Contrary to his confused words, his arms wrapped around Jasper, his hands going into his hair and gripping.

"I want you," Jasper said bluntly, the words almost a primordial grunt as he dragged his teeth across Peter's jaw.

The brown haired man whimpered, his head banging slightly against the wall as his blond haired lover attacked his neck. "I can see that," he said breathlessly.

Jasper said nothing, just grabbed the edge of Peter's shirt, tugging it up and off. He was being too rough, his hands kneading and pressing against Peter's chest – but his lover didn't protest. In fact, Peter's only response was to tug at Jasper's shirt until the blond man allowed just enough space between them that he could take it off. Then they were pressed against each other again, their mouths moving together. Peter's fingers dug into the flesh of Jasper's back and moaned, his fingers stumbling with the button as he tried to get the brown haired man's pants off.

Finally successful in unbuttoning Peter's pants, Jasper dropped to his knees. He was eager to be inside the other man, but equally desperate to bring him pleasure this way – where he could see Peter's face.

As he took Peter's cock in his mouth, his tongue firm around his head, Jasper suddenly remembered the first time they'd done this. A couple of weeks after they'd started dating, Peter had visited Jasper at the studio. He was flirty, funny, and sexy. Jasper was so smitten he hardly knew what to do with himself. He'd pushed the brunette into an editing bay, his pace frantic as he kissed him and then dropped to his knees just like this. Then his fervor had been driven by the beginnings of new love – the wonderful, dizzying whirlwind – and a need to get Peter off quickly lest they be caught in the act.

Jasper took more of his lover's length in his mouth, his hands cupping and caressing Peter's balls. "You're so good, you're so good, babe," Peter panted, his hands running through Jasper's hair, gripping occasionally as his body jerked.

Feeling Peter's struggle not to thrust his hips, Jasper felt a modicum of relief to his overwhelming need. He wanted to see Peter as out of control as he felt, Jasper realized. He wanted to know he could still make his lover weak in the knees.

Peter gripped Jasper's hair in a too tight grip, his free hand clamped hard on Jasper's shoulder as he came.

Releasing Peter from his mouth, Jasper stood, pressing a kiss against the other man's chest before he shared his taste. Peter sighed against his lover's mouth, leaning heavily against Jasper with his arms locked around his neck.

"I love you," Peter whispered, still a little breathless as he took Jasper's hand, leading him to their bedroom.

The brunette sat on the edge of their bed, tilting his head up as Jasper leaned down to continue their kiss. The atmosphere between them was calmer, though no less heated. He still felt the edge of desperation – a need to claim the other man entirely – but he was in control of it. He could stand relatively still, his hands resting on Peter's shoulders, as the other man pushed his pants down his ankles.

Jasper moaned as Peter took his length in his hands. He was already painfully hard, more than ready to find his own release. But, looking down at Peter, finding his lover's eyes tender and adoring, Jasper was rendered still and breathless by the power of the love he felt for the other man.

As Peter poured the warming lube on his hands, working the enveloping slickness along Jasper's cock, the blond man stroked the back of knuckles down his cheek. With Peter looking back at him, no words had to be spoken. They both knew they were adored. Treasured. Precious.

Kissing along Peter's shoulders, Jasper finally felt like he could breathe as he sunk into the other man. Peter was face down on the bed, his body Jasper's to own and control. Their hands were joined above his head, fingers wound tightly together as Jasper moved in him, pressing hot, open mouthed kisses to Peter's neck. It took hardly any time for his thrusts to pick up a quick pace, the only sounds in the room the muted thud of skin slapping together and the wild moans coming from both the men. The sound of their mutual pleasure built, and when Jasper finally came he did so with a shout.

Jasper rolled over onto his side, keeping an arm around Peter's waist and bringing the other man with him. He buried his head against the crook of Peter's neck, simply holding him as they both caught their breath.

The strange anxiety had faded, replaced by the more tender emotions of two men in love and completely familiar with each other. With his need sated, Jasper could think clearer, finding words to explain his tension.

Though Jasper couldn't wait to meet their daughter – the beautiful being they had created out of the love they had for each other and he life they shared – he knew their lives would be irrevocably changed. There was a fear in that change. Would this unrestrained passion he felt for his partner dissipate as they took on their new role as parents? As much as he knew that fatherhood was a profound gift in and of itself, Jasper didn't want to lose the connection he had with Peter.

He wondered vaguely if that thought was selfish.

As if he was feeling the exact same thing, Peter turned in Jasper's arms. They kissed slowly, savoring the extended quiet. How long would it be before they could be this way again - just enjoying the feel of their lips and tongues moving together, and their hands skimming across each others skin?

Communicating wordlessly in the lovers language, the men ignored the outside world as they laid in bed. They made love twice more as afternoon stretched into evening and evening stretched into night. Before exhaustion finally took him, Jasper swore to himself that no matter how busy they got, he wouldn't let them forget that they could be this.

They fell asleep wrapped tight in each others arms.

_**~0~** _

Only an hour had passed before Jasper's phone rang. The blond man only barely stirred, furrowing deeper against Peter's unruly, sex mussed hair before he fell back asleep.

In the hallway, in the puddle of Peter's long forgotten pants, his cell phone rang... several times, in fact.

Jasper's phone rang again, and again, and again before the familiar ringtone - Alice's ringtone - finally broke through the men's sleepy haze. Grumbling, Jasper reluctantly released his grip on Peter, leaning half over the bed as he dragged his pants toward him. "Hello?" he muttered, his voice scratchy.

"What the hell is a matter with you?" Alice's extraordinarily pissed off voice demanded. "How could you not answer your phone when Charlotte is about to have your baby without you?"

His body pulled in too many directions at once as he tried to stand, Jasper only succeeded in tumbling to the floor.

"Babe?" Peter asked, blinking sleepily.

"Wait, what?" Jasper said into the phone. "What are you talking about, Alice? The baby isn't due for another four weeks!"

"Obviously, Bethany has other plans. Charlotte's water broke."

"Jesus Christ," Jasper muttered, panic beginning to creep under his skin as he stumbled to his feet. "We'll be right there!"

"Don't come here, we're already in the car. I'll take her to the hospital and meet you there," Alice commanded, her voice leaving no room for argument.

"Alice... is Charlotte okay? I mean, it's early. Is-"

"Jasper, breathe," Alice said firmly. "It's fine. It's a little early but that's not abnormal, and Charlotte is fine, aren't you Char?"

"I'm good, daddio!" Charlotte said cheerfully from close by.

Jasper felt his lips twitch but couldn't quite smile. His heart was pounding too fast for all that. "Okay. Drive carefully," he implored. "We'll be there."

He hung up the phone reluctantly, looking at Peter who sat on bed. Both their faces were mirrors of awe and terror. "It's happening now?" Peter asked.

Swallowing passed the thick lump in his throat, Jasper pulled a pair of jeans out of their dresser, throwing them at Peter. "Come on. Get dressed. We're going to meet our daughter today."

Nervous and scared as he was, Jasper couldn't help the broad, painfully big grin that spread across his face, cheek to cheek.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Special thank you to the wonderful girls over at the Perv Pack Smut Shack. They did such a lovely review of my little fic *sniffle*. Thanks, as always, to barburella and jadedandboring. And jfka06.
> 
> Most of you know by now that I'm having surgery on Thursday, so I don't know when I'm updating again. I tend to think sooner rather than later (since I won't be working), so we'll see. Until then. I love ya!


	9. New Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Short chapter now means longer chapter next time. And the possibility of nookie. Bwah ahahah.

"Jasper," Alice tried to get his attention and failed.

Jasper didn't register the voice. He was pacing back and forth in front of Charlotte's bed. Also pacing, but in reverse of his own course, Peter had run his hands through his hair so much that he looked rather like Edward.

"Peter," Charlotte said, amused.

Neither men paid attention, both checking things off their fingers. "I should get ice chips. Yeah," Peter muttered, but he neglected to realize he had to leave to get them.

"Did you install the car seat? You know they won't let us leave here without a car seat installed," Jasper said as they crossed paths.

"I installed the car seat," Peter said, sounding more distracted than insulted.

"But did you install it right?" Jasper countered, coming to a sudden halt as he faced Peter.

Peter furrowed his eyebrows, looking slightly guilty. "Okay, I asked Rosalie to install it..."

"Peter!" Jasper cried. "You couldn't do it by yourself? It's a car seat. It's a basic. She's going to be in car seats for years and if you can't-"

"Jasper Austin Whitlock!" Alice yelled at the same time Charlotte growled, "Peter William Damon!"

Both men stopped arguing and looked at the women. Charlotte was rolling her eyes so hard, Jasper was surprised they didn't reach the pillow she was resting on. Alice, on the other hand, was glaring at them. "For goodness sakes," she muttered, shaking her head. "Would you two calm the hell down?"

"We're having a baby!" Peter protested.

"No, Charlotte's having a baby. Do you see her freaking out like a banshee with its raggedy cloak on fire?" she demanded, tapping her foot like a schoolmarm.

"No," Peter and Jasper muttered contritely.

"That's right," Alice said. "Now you two are either going to take a breath and become useful or you're going to be banished to the waiting room like this is the g'damn 1800s all over again."

Charlotte's chortling cut off suddenly with a gasp and she groaned. Peter and Jasper rushed to her bedside, fluffing pillows and patting her shoulder soothingly. As soon as she was over the worst of the contraction, she looked around her and gave a breathy laugh. "You guys look so serious. I'm not dying. I'm having a baby."

"What can we do?" Jasper asked, anxious.

"Not much you can do, honey," Charlotte said, relaxing again. "This is a process as old as time. Let it happen." As she spoke, she rubbed Jasper's arm and he had to admit he felt a little better.

"The nurse said you could get up and walk a little," Alice encouraged. "What do you say?"

"Walking around with my ass hanging out the back of this lovely gown they have going on?" Charlotte asked. "Sure, sounds like fun."

"Here, let me do that," Peter said quickly, taking Alice's place, supporting Charlotte as she got out of bed.

"Are you sure you can handle that?" Alice sassed. "Maybe I should send you to boil some water. That you might be able to accomplish."

"Alice," Jasper growled lightly. "Enough, we get it. Forgive us for being a little nervous."

"Go easy on the guys, Al," Charlotte said, leaning on Peter. "They've just figured out this is all real. This is the easy part. This will be over relatively quick, then they get to take this girl home and she's theirs forever," she said, resting a hand on her swollen belly.

The boys' eyes met across the room. Jasper reflected that he probably had the exact same expression on his face - complete and utter terror.

~0~

Tired of Jasper's incessant questioning, the nurse had sent him to take a walk. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets, a little disgruntled.

It took him a minute to realize there was more noise coming from the waiting room than was typical given that it was almost midnight. Familiar noise. He hurried around the corner.

Low and behold, most everyone in the waiting room belonged to him. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked, a little taken aback.

The waiting room was crawling with Cullens.

"How are you all here?" he asked, a little perplexed. If there was anything that the last two years had taught him, it was that babies complicated everything. As Charlotte had groused months before, Edward and Bella and Alice and Rosalie couldn't go anywhere without first making arrangements for their kids. Despite that, Edward, Bella, and Rosalie were present along with Carlisle and Esme.

"I'm trusting my one and only child, my precious baby girl in Jacob Black's hands," Edward said. He was lying across three chairs with his head cradled on Bella's lap. He grinned lazily at Jasper. "Except for my utter terror that he's going to... I don't know, use her as a g'damn football, this part is pretty zen when it's not me going out of my mind."

"Ha," Bella said, ruffling his hair. "Going so out of your mind your nearly missed your daughter's birth because you were sleeping."

Edward grimaced. "That wasn't... Are you ever going to let that go?"

Jasper flinched, Carlisle gave a little hiss, knowing his son was in trouble, and Esme just rolled her eyes.

"Let it go?" Bella asked. "I was pushing your daughter into the world, after twenty hours of labor, and you were taking a nap!" She got up, making Edward give a little 'oof' as his head clunked suddenly down on the couch.

Putting on a smile, Bella walked to Jasper and pulled him into a hug. "Like I was gonna miss this. You didn't leave me, why would I leave you?"

Jasper chuckled. "I'm not really doing the hard part. I pester the nurse for ice chips, among other things." He looked over at Rosalie. "Where's Dash?"

"He's with Emmett and Tanya, still fast asleep the last time I checked," Rosalie said with a smile. "How are you?"

Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Jasper had to laugh. "Me? I... I don't know," he admitted.

Tugging on her husband's arm, Esme stood. "I think we're in need of a midnight snack. We'll bring something for you and Peter," she said decisively.

"You stay," Bella commanded when Edward made a move to get up.

He sighed, watching her walk away with his parents, and ran his hands through his hair.

"Just so you know, you're an idiot," Rosalie told her twin. Shaking her head, she wrapped an arm around Jasper and led him to a comfortable looking sofa. "Talk to me," she commanded.

"This is such a stupid thing to be thinking right now..." Jasper hedged, ashamed at his own thought process. "My little girl is about to be born and I'm thinking... Ah, hell," he muttered.

Edward snorted, coming to sit on Jasper's other side. "Come on, Jasper, look at who you're talking to here. Just tell us."

"I am... terrified," he finally admitted. "I'm scared she's going to come out looking like Charlotte and Peter, and she's not going to feel like she's mine. And I feel... God, I feel like such a little shit for even thinking this... But is it different somehow? Will it feel different? Our family not being like... like other families? I've thought about it so often since we've known she was coming, but is it really going to feel...normal coming home to my baby?"

Rosalie looked at Jasper cooly for a few moments before she smacked him upside the head. Hard.

"Crap, Rose," he hissed, rubbing the sore spot.

"You're being ridiculous," she said flatly. "Jasper, you've loved that little girl every moment of this pregnancy. How Charlotte put up with your ear or your hands or your lips constantly attached to her belly is beyond me. And did you look into her eyes, when you wanted to share those moments, knowing you were so close to being a daddy? No, of course not. You looked at Peter." She gave a bark of laughter. "If that little girl pops out and she's bright, alien green, you won't love her any less. She owns you now, only you won't realize it until the moment you lay eyes on her."

"That's true," Edward agreed softly. "Before she was born, I thought I loved my daughter. I told her, over and over, I did. But when I saw her..." He's voice trailed off. He looked at Jasper with a small, knowing smile. "You know Bella and I didn't plan her. Arianna was conceived the exact same way your baby was, and when she was being created, I had no idea who Bella was or what she could be to me. Fuck normal. My baby is more precious to me because I almost missed her."

"Every baby has a birth story," Rosalie continued. "This whole process is just part of Bethany's. And take it from me... if she looks exactly like Charlotte and Peter, you're only going to love her more. She'll look like the man you love, whose eyes and pretty, pretty features you adore, and the woman who gave you the greatest gift imaginable."

"I don't know what came over me," Jasper admitted about a half an hour later after the elder Cullens and Bella came back.

"It's Dad's job to be nervous. It just manifests in different ways," Esme said, patting his hand. "This one," she gestured at Carlisle. "When Emmett was being born, he was pacing furiously, muttering under his breath that he didn't know how to build a tree house."

"Thanks for that," Carlisle said, kissing his wife's forehead and rolling his eyes.

"You're a natural," Bella said easily. Having forgiven Edward upon her arrival back, she was tucked under his arm, her head lazing on his shoulder. "Only this time you can't rile her up and hand her to someone else to deal with."

Jasper groaned. "You're going to enjoy that part, aren't you?"

Her eyes twinkled with mischief. "Yep!"

Before he could come back from that, Alice came running into the waiting room. "Come on, Dad," she said, tugging Jasper to his feet. "You're up. Final stretch now."

"What do you mean final stretch?" Jasper asked, following her. "It's only been a couple of hours."

"Chyeah," Alice said, shaking her head. "Bella's going to be pissed. Anyway, the doctor is almost here."

"This is happening," Jasper said numbly.

Alice stopped. She stood in front of him, getting on her tiptoes and putting her hands on either side of his face. "You got this," she said firmly, her eyes betraying nothing but the complete faith she had in him. "Okay?"

He breathed in and out slowly, wrapping his arms around Alice and sweeping her into a hug that lifted her right off the ground. "Thank you," he said, feeling not even remotely ready but knowing he had the strength of his surrogate family behind him.

Turning, Jasper went alone into the birthing room.

Peter looked up, relief flooding his features when he saw Jasper in the doorway. "There you are," he said.

Jasper took his place on Charlotte's other side. "Sorry, darl. I didn't think Charlotte was going to hit the fast forward on this whole thing."

Charlotte rolled her head, looking flushed and not as calm as she had before. Still, she grinned at him. "Sorry, Poppa. I told you. I give birth as easy as an ally cat."

"You're really okay?" Jasper asked, smoothing her hair back tenderly.

"I'm totally fine," she assured. Then she groaned as another contraction hit. It must have been strong because she whimpered, clasping Jasper and Peter's hands simultaneously.

"Baby's eager to meet you now," she said breathlessly, just as the doctor arrived.

Charlotte was right. Once the doctor told her to push, it was only minutes before the baby crowned. Another minute and she was there. The moment was utterly surreal because it happened so quickly and then there was a flurry of movement as the nurses and the doctor examined her - a precaution because she was a little early. Bethany didn't scream as Arianna had. Her cry was more startled, as if the whole situation took her by surprise.

Jasper was sure he had the same dumbstruck look as Peter did, both their eyes watching their daughter, so close and yet untouchable for the moment. "How is she?" Jasper asked, his voice a strangled squeak. "How's my girl?"

"Not to worry, Daddy," the doctor said, soothingly. "She's just fine. Come cut the chord and we'll get her cleaned up for you."

He looked over at Peter who just nodded, still unable to speak. His hands were wrapped tightly around one of Charlotte's. Jasper took the scissors the doctor handed him with shaking hands and cut his daughter loose from Charlotte.

Bethany was whisked away briefly, and Peter managed to stumble over to Jasper's side of the bed. Neither of their eyes had left the tiny, whimpering baby. The doctor brought Bethany to them, now wrapped up, and placed her carefully in Jasper's arms.

"She's so little," Peter said with a gasp, his eyes welling with tears.

"She's normal," the doctor assured.

"They kind of come this way," Charlotte said, laughing and crying at the same time.

But Jasper didn't hear any of that. All he heard were the tiny, baby sounds his daughter was making as she squirmed, her eyes open and, though he knew it wasn't possible, looking at him. Her weight was minuscule and yet heavy in his arms. In those moments, staring down at her hazy gray eyes, Jasper knew that everything Edward and Rosalie had told him was true. He'd said for months how much he loved his little girl, but he didn't realize the depth of that emotion until that very second. She'd instantaneously carved out a piece of his soul and he was, he abruptly knew, forever altered. And it didn't matter what she looked like. Right then, she looked like a bald Shar Pei puppy - a blotchy one at that. But to Jasper, Aphrodite herself would have looked like a hag compared to the creature in his arms.

"Peter," he whispered, ripping his eyes away from his daughter to look up at his lover, his partner, the love of his life. "She's ours. We're Daddies." His voice cracked, and he couldn't help the tears that spilled over onto his cheeks.

Wrapping his arm around Jasper's back, Peter leaned his head against the blond man's cheek. "Our daughter," he said in awe.

Just like that, nothing else mattered. It didn't matter that neither of them had carried their baby inside of them. It didn't matter that it had taken specialists and a lab to help them get here. It didn't matter that there would be people out there who looked on them as wrong. The only thing that mattered was the little bundle he held and the man at his side.

His family.

He looked at Peter again and kissed him soundly. It didn't matter whose blood ran through her veins. There was no one else who was going to be there every day. No one else was going to be whatever their daughter needed. They were her parents. No one else was going to love her the way they did.

Frightening as it was, it was also the most natural, normal thing in the world.

**~0~**

_Bethany Charlotte Whitlock_

_B: 8/21/2013 at 12:47 A.M._

_Weight: 5 pounds 4 ounces_

_Length: 18 inches_

**~0~**

**  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Welcome to the world, baby Bethany.
> 
> Thanks to my cheerleaders, jfka06 and barburella, this was done in an evening. Weee! And thanks to jadedandboring, it was beta'ed overnight. I love the people who love me.
> 
> And thanks to y'all for all your well wishes. Surgery went fine and I'm on the upswing now. :) I sincerely appreciate all your kind words.


	10. Hold On Tight

Nettie Damon made good on her promise to come as soon as the baby was born. Which meant the Damon-Whitlock household was all the more crowded.

"I'm not mistaken, right? We did have a baby?" Peter asked, looking around their living room with his head on Jasper's shoulder.

Jasper chuckled dryly. "I don't know. I haven't touched our daughter since the hospital."

"This child is so precious," Nettie cooed, reluctantly handing Bethany over to Bella.

"You always look so good holding a baby," Edward said, kissing Bella's cheek.

Looking up from under her eyelashes, Bella narrowed her eyes slightly. "Don't start," she warned.

"Well, where am I putting my things?" Nettie asked, looking expectantly at her son and Jasper.

"Um..." Peter started.

"You can have the room I was staying in, Mrs. D." Charlotte turned to Alice. "Did you pack up my stuff?"

Alice nodded. "I did it yesterday."

"Whoa, what?" Jasper asked, a little shocked.

Charlotte ignored the protesting boys as she stood. "Just let me do a run through to make sure I didn't leave anything behind. Honestly, I could have moved into that suite in the hospital."

"See, someone knows how to appreciate the maternity suites," Edward said, elbowing Bella in the side lightly.

"I appreciated their banana nut muffins," Bella said innocently.

Jasper and Peter shot off after Charlotte. "Honey, you don't need to leave," Peter said, his voice low so the gathered people in the living room wouldn't hear.

Charlotte paused, looking down for a moment before she looked up at them with shining eyes. "Look, you guys have been so good to me. But the sooner I get back to my own life, the better."

"Well, that's fine, Char. You just shouldn't feel like you have to run out the door," Jasper said. "Take your time. You had a baby two days ago."

"Yeah," she said, laughing lightly. She wiped away two tears that suddenly spilled over. "Look, guys. This isn't easy, okay? I meant every word I said, and I don't regret it for the world, but there's still this big part of me that just...wants to grab that little girl and never let her go." She sniffled, hiding behind her hand for a moment.

"Charlotte..." Peter began.

"I wouldn't do it, Petey... I would never do that. She's your daughter, and that's good...that's perfect, actually. It's just how I feel right now. The fairy tale, remember?" She sniffled again and Peter pulled her into his arms. "It's just all the hormones, or whatever. It'll pass. I just ... need to not be here for a little while."

"Okay, darlin'," Jasper said soothingly. "You take what time you need. Just remember." He tugged her arm, leading her to the edge of the hallway so they could peak in on the zoo that was their living room. "You're part of all this mish mash."

"Oh, man," Charlotte groaned. "God help me."

**~0~**

The boys finally managed to wrestle their daughter back. They took her to their room, nestling her safe in the bassinet she would spend her first few weeks in.

Peter caught Jasper's hand to keep him from rearranging the baby's blanket for the fifth time. "She's fine," he said.

"She's something," Jasper murmured, still completely in awe.

They made sure the monitor was on and turned around only to find they were being watched. Peter looked over at his lover, raising his eyebrows in vague amusement. "I'm going to see if we can shoo all these people out sooner rather than later," Peter murmured, kissing Jasper once before he stepped around their little intruder, ruffling his hair as he went.

When they were alone, Jasper knelt, putting his arm around the almost three year old in the doorway. "What's up, Dash? You look sad."

"No," he claimed, but he put his arms around Jasper's neck, clinging.

"Hey, buddy," Jasper murmured, sitting down with the little boy in his lap. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Dash said with a melodramatic sigh. "Jappa, you is still like me?"

"Like you?" Jasper asked, pulling back to look at the little boy. "You're pretty much the most awesome person I know."

Dash giggled, cheering considerably. "Juss checkin'."

Jasper chuckled, wondering idly what his daughter's personality would turn out to be. "Come on, munchkin," he said, standing and flipping the boy over his shoulder. Dash squealed in delight. "Your moms should be about ready to -"

Startled awake by Dash's high pitched yelp, Bethany started crying.

"Whoops," Jasper muttered, righting Dash in his arms. The little boy held his hands over his ears.

Setting Dash on the ground, Jasper went to tend to his daughter.

"You like her?" Dash asked, sounding dubious as he watched Jasper sit on the edge of the bed.

"I'm pretty fond of her, yeah," Jasper admitted.

"Well, okay," Dash allowed.

"There you are," Alice said, shaking her head as she came in the room. She scooped Dash up and looked at Jasper, lowering her voice. "Sorry if he woke the baby."

"It was my fault," Jasper said gently.

Alice smiled at him. "That's a good look for you, you know," she murmured.

"You think?" he asked, smiling at the idea.

"Yeah." She jostled the toddler in her arms. "What do you think, baby? Isn't Bethany pretty?"

Dash considered this. "No. She's lil'."

Alice and Jasper both laughed. "You were smaller than she was. By a lot, actually."

"Nah-uh!" Dash protested.

"Well," Alice said, leaning down and kissing Jasper on the forehead. "We'll be around, okay? Remember to sleep when the baby sleeps."

"Baby's sleeping now," he pointed out.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it never actually worked for us either."

**~0~**

"Mom, it's okay," Peter said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "We can put her down."

"Peter, for heavens sake. You're going to fall where you stand," Nettie said, taking Bethany from Jasper's arms. "I'm not going to be here forever. Take advantage of me while you still can." She looked over at Jasper. "You two take a few hours for yourselves."

"Thanks, Nettie," Jasper said, tugging on Peter's arm. Personally, a little alone time sounded fabulous. Peter sighed, kissing the fussy baby on her downy head before letting Jasper drag him down the hallway.

"Oh, man," Peter groaned falling onto their bed. "I am so tired."

When Jasper climbed into bed, his lover automatically rolled over. Peter threw an arm over the blond man's stomach, resting his head on Jasper's shoulder. "Been a wild week, hasn't it?" Jasper asked, lazily drawing his fingers through Peter's hair.

"Wild," Peter echoed.

They lay quietly, enjoying the few moments of peace Nettie had given them. Jasper thought about how much his life had changed. Nettie was the only reason his house wasn't a complete mess. It was the first time since forever that Jasper had absolutely no idea what was going on at the studio. He hadn't shaved in days.

But his little girl, as tiring as she could be, was well worth it.

Jasper ran the pad of his finger along the shell of Peter's ear. Early that morning, Jasper had woken alone. He found Peter in Bethany's nursery, fast asleep in the rocking chair with the baby held securely to his chest. He'd gotten up with her to give Jasper a chance to sleep.

That sight had stirred something primal in him. It was a need so great it had robbed him of breath for a moment. This family was his. It was a moment of pure pride, but also of an irrational, terrible fear. He knew nothing was written in stone. He could lose this perfect, pretty picture any number of ways.

Remembering that feeling - pride and fear mixing together - Jasper rolled onto his side. Peter's eyes fluttered open and he groaned at the loss of his pillow. But his protests were soon silenced as Jasper began to kiss his grizzly chin.

"Mmm. Babe," Peter muttered. "I'm exhausted. I need a nap."

"So take a nap," Jasper rumbled, nipping lightly at Peter's neck while his hands sought the hem of Peter's shirt.

The brown haired man groaned. "Oh, fuck," he muttered as Jasper's hands ran across the skin of his stomach. "You want to molest me in my sleep?"

"I want you," Jasper growled, tugging Peter's shirt off. "We're parents. We can't be picky about things like consciousness."

Peter's laugh turned into another moan when Jasper cupped him over the sweatpants he wore. He ran his hands up underneath the blond man's shirt, scraping his nails against his back.

Peter must have decided that he could sleep when they were dead because he slowly became a more active participant. He cupped Jasper's face, bringing his head up so they could kiss properly. Jasper reflected that he tasted like coffee - the miracle elixir that must have replaced their blood by now.

It felt so good to be kissing his lover like this again. Had they really let this slide for a whole week?

Right then, their sloppy dress - shirts and sweatpants - was a godsend. The fewer buttons they had to contend with the better. Their hands tangled, pushing pants down and pulling Jasper's shirt up, all the while trying not to let their lips part for longer than a few seconds.

"Quiet, doll," Jasper mumbled against Peter's lips, trying to swallow his increasingly louder moans. "You want your Momma to know what I'm doing to you?"

They shared a quiet look, both of them breathless from their exertions. One day soon, they would whisper at each other to be quiet, lest Bethany hear them and be traumatized for life.

Jasper kissed Peter gently then, his neediness fading into tenderness. This man was the father of his child, and he was so in love he felt he would be warm standing in the middle of a snow storm naked. He kissed Peter's lips and remembered spotting him for the first time across the bar - how his hair was too shaggy but Jasper inexplicably wanted to run his fingers through it.

Stroking the skin behind Peter's ears, Jasper remembered their first date and their first kiss. He remembered that he fell in love first with the brown haired man's smile, then his laugh, then his incredibly bright spirit.

Then it was all an incredible blur. Peter had fit seamlessly into the life Jasper had built himself. He got along with Bella and Jacob, accepting them and loving them as Jasper did. He understood Jasper's hectic work schedule, rarely complaining about late hours and phone calls in the middle of the night. With Peter, Jasper had begun to dream of the nameless more.

Now, more was here. Jasper was living a life he'd once only visited in his dreams, and it was all thanks to the man he held in his arms.

"I love you," Jasper said against Peter's lips, kissing him soundly before he pushed the other man's shoulders. Peter let Jasper direct him until they were both on their sides, spooned together.

Jasper only broke contact long enough to retrieve the lube from the nightstand. "Do you know how fucking hot you are to me?" he murmured against Peter's ear.

"Yeah," the other man scoffed, but his tone was breathy. "So hot with these bags under my my eyes, and the stench of baby vomit lingering..."

"You've never been more sexy to me," Jasper growled, moving his slicked finger around Peter's entrance.

"When I see you holding her, I want to jump you. All the time. Is that wrong?" Peter asked, spreading his legs as Jasper began to slide into him.

Laughing, the blond man wrapped his arms possessively around his lover, rocking his hips. "Don't you know? Hot daddies holding their daughters trump just about anything else."

"Ooooh," Peter said, his hand snaking back to tangle in Jasper's hair. "That explains a lot. Like why I could never get enough of you."

"Never," Jasper agreed, dragging his teeth along the skin at Peter's neck.

Their position was lazy yet intimate, and neither man was in a hurry. They were content to reconnect after their hectic first week of child rearing. Jasper rocked into Peter a steady pace, kissing and nipping his skin. Peter took one of his hands, guiding it down so they could stroke his length together

Jasper brought his free hand up, clasping it tight over Peter's mouth when their tempo reached that more fervent pace. He bit into his lover's shoulder perhaps a bit harder than he intended, drowning his own normally loud cries against slick, salty skin.

Peter rolled back toward Jasper when they were both satisfied, kissing him between breaths. Tangled up in each others embrace, they lay together quietly.

"It's scary, isn't it?" Peter asked, his head resting on the same pillow as Jasper's.

Jasper had to laugh because which part? It was scary how much he loved the man beside him, and scarier still how much he loved his daughter. They were essential to him, like air and water. That kind of devotion was always frightening.

But what Jasper knew was that the also had the best partner possible who would be at his side through thick and thin. For better or for worse? Jasper and Peter had not had to recite those vows to know they were true.

And if ever they should falter, they knew they had family to fall back on. It didn't matter that they weren't tied by blood, the people that surrounded Jasper's life, his lover and daughter's lives, were steadfast and true.

"It's scary," Jasper concurred with Peter's statement. He threaded their fingers together, squeezing tightly. "But we got this, babe."

"Yeah," Peter agreed, smiling. "Just hold on tight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: There will be an epilogue, so you will get to see the boys as parents to a toddler.
> 
> Thanks and love to jadedandboring and barburella.


	11. Epilogue: Life's A Beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Reminder - Bethany was born in August of 2013.

**~Two Years Later~**

Two years into parenthood, Jasper was used to pulling himself upright from bed without being completely awake yet. He sat back against the headboard, rubbing sleep from his eyes and trying to bring awareness back to his cloudy thoughts.

Beside him, Peter stirred, stretching. His whole body stiffened for a moment. "Jasper!"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you hear that?"

Instantly, Jasper snapped to attention. The only sound he heard, besides the busy Los Angeles morning outside their house, was the soft, steady sound of Bethany's breathing from the monitor. It was strange. She was typically awake by this time. For the last few months she would wake up and babble to her toys while waiting for her fathers to catch up.

Jasper frowned. "She's still asleep? Do you think that's normal? Do you think something's wrong?"

Peter rolled his eyes, climbing to his knees facing his lover. "She's fine. She's asleep." With an impish, sexy grin, he crawled forward slowly. "She's asleep, Jasper," he said again, his voice heavy with meaning.

"Oh," Jasper said, grinning as he caught on. As Peter straddled his hips, straightening up again, Jasper reached out, his hand on the other man's neck. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

Their kisses were not unhurried, both of them well used to the fact that their time was not their own. They both knew that Bethany wouldn't stay asleep long.

But Peter knew exactly what he was doing. As they kissed voraciously, he moved over Jasper, circling his hips at just the right angle to drive them both crazy. They didn't waste time with sweet talk or dirty talk, needing a physical connection. Their lips smothered moans and little mewls as Jasper blindly reached over to the nightstand, searching for the lube they kept handy.

They moved in a well synchronized dance, pulling down boxers and kicking them off without breaking their kiss for longer than it took to breathe. When Peter was slick and ready for him, he raised his hips, sliding down on Jasper's cock as the blond man kissed his neck.

For one moment, they allowed themselves to be still, nuzzling each other affectionately as they reveled in mutual pleasure. Then Peter began to move, pressing open mouthed kisses haphazardly along Jasper's jaw.

"Fuck, you're so hot," Jasper rasped into Peter's ear. "I'll never get enough of you," he said, his hands roaming the expanse of his lover's bare back. He thrust up, a steady beat to the rhythmic tempo Peter set. The other man moaned, biting down on Jasper's earlobe. "You like that?"

"Yes. God, baby. I love you," Peter grunted the words breathlessly.

The air was suddenly punctuated by a sharp cry, and both men froze. Jasper blinked, a little befuddled because the cry was odd, and when it sounded again he realized for certain it wasn't Peter crying in pleasure. It was Bethany and she wasn't happy.

In seconds both men were in motion again. Peter rolled away from Jasper, reaching for the robes they'd thrown haphazardly over the back of the chair the night before. He tossed Jasper his, swooping in for a quick, hard kiss. "Later?" he asked.

"Later," Jasper promised before they both hurried down the hallway to their daughter's room.

"Bethie," Peter was speaking gently as he lifted the sobbing child out of her crib. "Wake up, honey. Did you have a bad dream?"

Bethany's response was muffled along with her weeping as she'd buried her face against Peter's chest. Her arms were locked around his neck.

Jasper clucked, going to his family and rubbing his daughter's back soothingly. "Bethany," he said, his voice a sing-song. "Do you know what today is?"

The little girl turned her head, leveling him with watery eyes. She hiccuped as her cries further quieted and waited for him to let her in on the mystery.

"It's your birthday, sweetie," Peter said, kissing the side of her hair. "Remember?"

At that, Bethany definitely perked up. "Birthday?" she inquired.

Jasper lifted her out of Peter's arms, holding her above his head for a moment as she squealed in delight. "Happy birthday, Princess," he said, kissing her cheek. He looked over at Peter. "I'll get her ready, babe. You can shower first."

Peter leaned in, pressing a lingering kiss to Jasper's lips before he broke with a wistful sigh. He kissed Bethany's forehead before he left the room.

"So what's the verdict, kid?" Jasper asked his daughter as he helped her out of her sleep clothes. "How have the first two years of life treated you?"

"Mmmmm," Bethany scrunched up her little face, appearing deep in thought. Then she shrugged.

Jasper grinned, completely charmed and in love with his little girl. "Just okay?"

"Okay," she agreed and gave him a toothy grin as she grabbed her feet, giggling because he'd been about to pull her pants up. "No!" she declared, smacking at the pants in his hands.

"No?"

"No," Bethany restated and looked at him stubbornly.

"Okay," Jasper relented. Bethany'd had her own fashion sense since she was tiny. Dressing her was a daily compromise. "Since today is your birthday, you can wear whatever you want."

**~0~**

"Gammy!" Bethany cried, reaching for Esme the minute she opened the door at the Cullen house. While they'd told her before that Esme wasn't her grandmother, most every child Bethany knew called her Grandma and it was natural for her to mimic that.

Esme was agreeable. She gladly scooped Bethany up, holding her at arms length for a moment before she cuddled her close. "Oh, my goodness. What are you wearing, little one?"

"Bethany is taking advantage of Jasper's belief that the birthday girl gets whatever she wants," Peter explained wryly, leaning in to kiss Esme's cheek. He looked to his lover. "When she wants a pony and a new car, that's on you."

"Well, I for one think that tutus go perfectly with footy pajamas," Esme said, nodding at the girl with mock seriousness.

Esme ushered the little family inside. Bethany was quickly passed to Carlisle who she greeted with a cheery, "Grampy!"

"Happy birthday, Princess," Carlisle said, kissing her. "Come on. Let's go to the living room. I have something for you."

"Carlisle," Jasper protested. "You can't give her a gift before everyone else."

The older man looked over his shoulder, a deceivingly innocent expression on his face. "It isn't wrapped. It doesn't count. There's a wrapped present around here somewhere for her."

Jasper and Peter exchanged a look, rolling their eyes. The Cullens spoiled the hell out of their little girl, treating her no differently than they treated their blood related grandchildren.

"Oooooo," Bethany gasped, reaching with grasping hands at the tiny medical bag Carlisle dragged closer to them as he sat down with her on the couch. She giggled delightedly as he helped her rifle through the bag, taking out brightly colored medical equipment.

"Bethany, what do you say?"

"Thank you," Bethany said dutifully, putting the listening bit of her stethoscope against Carlisle's lips.

Bethany was on cloud nine, running to the door to greet her extended family. "Edwah! Belly!" she greeted Edward and Bella, hugging their legs. "Ari!" She excitedly hugged their daughter as soon as Edward set her down.

"Look, Bethie," Arianna said, taking her hands from behind her back to reveal a little girl's hat. "You have a hat just like mine."

"Pretty," Bethany said reverently, taking the hat from the older girl. "Thank you!"

Watching the exchange, Jasper had to grin. Both Arianna and Bethany had picked up on his penchant for hats. "Ari picked those out all by herself. She was so proud," Bella said, coming to sit next to him.

"The girl has good taste," Jasper approved.

The two girls played together amiably until Ari tried to give Bethany a shot, sending the little girl screaming. She scaled Jasper like a spider, clinging to him and begging him to protect her.

"That's okay, Beth," Edward said, patting the little girl on the back and trying not to laugh. "Belly doesn't like shots either."

Seizing the opportunity, Arianna climbed up on Bella's lap with the play needle, thrusting it into her arm. Playing along, Bella pretended to cry until the giggling girl kissed her owie and hugged her tightly.

Half an hour later, the Cullen house was, as usual, teeming with people. Bethany was so hyper, flitting from person to person, that she hardly noticed when Arianna ditched her to play with Dash.

Jasper and Peter watched their daughter with small, private smiles on their face, their hands twined and pride evident on both their faces. It had been an interesting journey so far, to be sure. Like all children, Bethany had pushed them both to the very limits of their patience, but she was the greatest joy they'd ever shared.

Last but not least to arrive was Charlotte.

"Char!" Bethany cried, throwing herself into the woman's arms. Charlotte was one of her favorite people.

"Munchkin!" Charlotte greeted, scooping the little girl into a bear hug. "Look at you, looking so pretty."

Bethany was gorgeous, that couldn't be denied. Her full lips and button nose were a perfect replica of Charlotte's. Jasper knew one day his little girl would be a heart breaker...and he might go prematurely grey.

Setting Bethany down again, Charlotte wedged herself between Jasper and Peter, sighing lightly as she watched the girl run around, lapping up all the attention she was getting. "She's amazing," she murmured, not for the first time. "She grows every time I see her."

"That's a kid's one job," Peter said, putting his arm around her shoulder. "They grow." He frowned. "My God... wasn't she just a baby who couldn't support her own head yesterday?"

"I miss my baby," Jasper agreed, reaching across Charlotte to find Peter's free hand. "I love my little girl, but sometimes I do miss my baby."

Charlotte scoffed. "You guys are crazy. Babies are needy," she said, but her voice was teasing.

A few moments of easy silence passed between them before Charlotte spoke again, her tone serious. "I'd give you another, you know. If you want. Whenever you want."

Both men turned to look at her, a little shocked by the sudden turn in the conversation. Charlotte looked back, amused at the expressions on their face. "What? You want more than one, don't you?"

"Two," Peter agreed. "We've always wanted two kids."

"Well?"

Jasper laughed, kissing Charlotte's cheek. "You're too good to us, sweetheart," he said. "Not yet though. Maybe another year?" he looked at Peter.

"Yeah. If that's okay," Peter agreed.

"Of course," Charlotte said, grinning at both of them. "My uterus is here for you." She winked at them, and stood to go in search of munchies.

A little while later, Jasper was sitting out by the pool, just relaxing as everyone milled around him. Alice appeared out of nowhere and plopped down, stretching herself along side him. "Well, hello there, sugar," Jasper murmured, sleepy and amused as he put his arms around her.

"Hey," she greeted, laying her head on his chest. "Are you in a good mood?"

"The best," he chuckled. "I'm about to slip into a food and cake coma, my baby girl hasn't stopped smiling all day... you know, except for that one tantrum. I might have to buy a new house to put all her stuff, but I'll just think about that later..."

Alice laughed along with him, then sobered. Jasper felt her body tense in his arms. "Alice? Are you okay?"

"Yeah... just this isn't easy to ask," she said with a small frown.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned. He took her hand and squeezed it tight. "Honey, you know you can tell me anything."

She huffed and looked up at him. "Rosie and I... we want to have another baby," she finally blurted. "She wants to carry it this time and we... well, we'd like for Dash to have a brother or sister who shares at least some of his DNA."

For the second time in a day, Jasper was struck dumb. He stumbled, not quite knowing how to wrap his head around that request. "Whoa, okay. Give me a second because I wasn't expecting that."

She sighed. "I'm sorry. Rosalie had this whole conversation last time. With Edward."

Jasper let out a sharp bark of laughter. "A lot has happened since then," he muttered, looking around the backyard.

His eyes drifted over to Bella, his independent friend who had once asked him this very same question - asked him to help her become a mother. He watched as Edward came up behind her, snaking his hands around her waist and kissing her neck. She melted back against him, her smile relaxed and incredibly happy.

Then he looked over to where Rosalie was kneeling in front of Dash and Jasper smiled.

He knew first hand that creating families didn't always have to be as it had been since the beginning of time - the mother, the father, the child. It was a mark of progress, he mused. Running around the backyard was an example of a family, pieced together like a collage. There were Carlisle and Esme, who had created their children in the usual way. Emmett and Tanya had had some trouble conceiving. In another time, they would have been childless. In another time, their twins - born too early - may have perished. Now they and their new baby brother thrived. Then the whole debacle with perpetual Uncle Edward who'd accidentally stumbled into fatherhood, finding his soulmate only after their child had been conceived.

As Esme and Carlisle had repeatedly pointed out, they were all family.

If he were to do this - help Alice and Rosalie create another child - he was, in an odd way, adding his bloodline to their very peculiar family. Who said that DNA had to be passed from parent to child?

He was, after all, no less Bethany's father just because he sincerely doubted his blood ran through her veins, given her features.

Winding his fingers with Alice, he smiled. "You know, sugar, probably. I need to talk to Peter, but yeah... probably."

Her answering grin could have lit the Las Vegas strip. "I can deal with probably for now," she agreed.

**~June 2016~**

"Bethany Charlotte, you are working my last nerve," Jasper growled at his almost three year old daughter.

The stubborn girl crossed her arms, refusing to pick up the mess she'd made.

Sitting back on his kneed, Jasper sighed. "Well, okay. We were going to meet Daddy at the beach, but I'll have to call him and tell him we can't make it," he said, pulling out his cell phone.

Bethany's eyes went wide. "Noooooo. Daddy, I'll pick it all up," she said quickly, suddenly flying into motion.

Jasper somehow resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he watched her for a moment before climbing to his feet. "Come get me when you're done, okay baby?"

She nodded, distracted by her task.

Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Jasper wandered back over to his office. He was just about to settle back to solving all the problems over at Friday Night Delayed when his phone chirped with Alice's ringtone.

"Hey, sugar," he greeted.

"Hey, you," Alice answered, sounding tired.

"Are you okay, Alice?" he asked, automatically concerned.

"I am. I'm just hiding from the pregnant beast currently residing in my wife's body," she said, chuckling. "The poor thing. It's not as if I don't sympathize. Her morning sickness is so much worse than mine ever was."

"It means the baby is growing," he assured.

"That she is."

"You're sure it's a girl this time, huh?" Jasper asked, amused.

"Sure is."

"Well, if Alice declares it, it will be so."

**~0~**

Peter sat back on the sand, laughing as he watched Bethany. The little girl was trying to get the wet sand to transfer from her pail onto the ground without breaking. Her face was rapt with concentration, her little tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth.

Jasper reached over, holding his lover's hand tightly as they watched their daughter play. "It still trips me out sometimes," he admitted.

"What's that?"

"That this is mine. You. Bethy," Jasper clarified, slipping his arm around the other man's waist. He looked up at Peter, leaning in for a chaste, sweet kiss. "What do you say we talk to Charlotte soon?"

Peter grinned. "Yeah. Totally. We can handle it." He looked back at Bethany, a wistful smile on his face.

"Well that settles it then," Jasper said finally. He kissed Peter's cheek once more before climbing to his feet. "I'm gonna see about getting us some street meat."

"Oh, honey. The way you talk," Peter teased. Jasper just rolled his eyes, walking off.

As Jasper stood in line he kept his eye on Peter and Bethany, playing in the waves. Peter was so unbelievably handsome, he thought. Jasper wasn't ashamed to ogle. He was shamelessly eye-fucking his man from a distance.

"Is that your little one?"

Jasper looked up, his defenses automatically making him wary when he saw an older woman watching Peter and Bethany as well. He cleared his throat. "Yes, ma'am. That's my Bethany," he confirmed. "And my Peter."

The woman looked at him curiously for a moment and smiled. "What a gorgeous family you have. You're a lucky young man."

Looking back at his family, Jasper couldn't help the wide, proud grin that threatened to split his face. "Yes, ma'am. That I am."

**~The End~**

**  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sigh. I so wasn't ready to say good-bye to these two. I am planning on writing the birth of their second child along with the birth of Edward and Bella's twins (if you read Parenthetical Love). It'll be added as an outtake to Parenthetical Love.
> 
> I will be contributing a Jasper/Riley o/s (not THIS Jasper) to the FGB compilation, if you're interested in that.
> 
> So thank you all for coming along on this journey with me. Thank you barburella, jfka06 and jadedandboring for holding my hand.
> 
> Mwah


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